


Season of the Hunt

by SoulSlayer



Series: Changing Our Destiny - Season 2 (A Destiny AU) [10]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28036824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulSlayer/pseuds/SoulSlayer
Summary: After Xivu Arath's Hive Celebrant kills Sagira, Fireteam Paralight find themselves teaming up with a new and unexpected ally named the Crow: Uldren Sov revived as a Lightbearer who is now stuck serving the Spider. With Xivu Arath forming an army out of Fallen andHive, Paralight must work with this new Lightbearer to weaken her grasp on the Reef and avenge Sagira.
Relationships: Cayde-6/Female Guardian (Destiny), Female Guardian/The Crow, Female Guardian/Uldren Sov, Male Guardian/Petra Venj, Nonbinary Guardian/Female Guardian
Series: Changing Our Destiny - Season 2 (A Destiny AU) [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777495
Comments: 15
Kudos: 50





	1. The Celebrant, the Crow & the Spider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When news of Sagira’s death reaches Fireteam Paralight, they immediately head for the Moon to aid Osiris in hunting down Xivu Arath’s High Celebrant. However, they are saved by a new and unexpected ally.

_“Fireteam Paralight, we have a developing situation that I need you to take point on. For the past few weeks, Osiris has been trying to assess the damage caused by the return of the Darkness. He believes that Xivu Arath, the Hive god of war, seeks to take advantage of the power vacuum left in its wake. Osiris was investigating physical manifestations of her magic near the Scarlet Keep when…his Ghost, Sagira, was slain. Osiris delivered a message through a secure channel requesting that you personally aid him in this hunt. He’s desperate, Guardians. I need you three to save him from himself.”_

  
“Going down below the Moon’s surface, Lightless. What is Osiris thinking?” Blaze muttered as Fireteam Paralight approached the entrance to the Hall of Wisdom.  
“Wouldn’t you hunt for the one responsible if someone killed Firefly?” Adam asked.  
“Fair point.”  
“I still can’t believe Sagira’s…” Rae began but trailed off. “I’m…I’m worried about Osiris.” Ghost began, “If Sagira’s gone then-”  
“Don’t worry about me but keep your voice down.” Osiris’s voice came through, “I’m using an external comm. I thought I was hunting Sagira’s killer…the High Celebrant of Xivu Arath. But now I think it’s hunting me. Meet me in the Hall of Wisdom.”  
“On our way.” Rae replied. But as they made their way through the entrance, another voice came through the comms.  
“Your friend is in a lot of danger.”  
“Who’s this?” Rae asked.  
“A concerned Ghost. Osiris shouldn’t be here, especially in his condition.”  
“We appreciate the warning, but we know what we’re doing.” Ghost replied, “If you and your Guardian are here to help…”  
“My Guardian. Right.”

As they descended below the Moon’s surface, Rae couldn’t help but notice Blaze looking uncomfortable.  
“You alright there, Blaze?”  
“Not really.” Blaze replied, “I’m getting a sinking feeling in my stomach. And when I get that feeling, it means I’m either about to receive a vision, or a vision I received previously is about to happen.”  
“Did you get any visions recently?”  
“…n-no.”  
“Okay…well, let me know if we need to stop for a minute.”  
“I-I’ll be fine. We need to hurry and find Osiris before the celebrant does.”  
Blaze walked a few steps behind Adam and Rae and Firefly whispered to her, “You’re not telling them? Really?! What if he’s-?”  
“Shh!” Blaze hushed, “They’ve enough to deal with right now. Chances are I’ll receive a new vision and things will be fine. Let’s just focus on finding Osiris for now.”

* * *

“I hate it when they do that…” Blaze sighed in frustration as the small Fireteam managed to escape the Hive ambush into the Shrine of Oryx where Rae spotted Osiris on a platform above them. “You’re here. Finally.” Osiris called down, “Is it done?”  
“All good on our end.” Rae called back, giving a thumbs up, “Blaze just gets crabby when we’re on the Moon.”  
“I do not!” Blaze argued, giving Rae a light shove. Osiris chuckled slightly, “Good to hear. I’ll come down to y- oh!”  
As Osiris went to turn around, he was knocked to the ground by a Hive knight, his gun tumbling off the edge. “Osiris!!” Rae exclaimed. She went to aim her auto-rifle at the knight, who raised its sword up high, when…

*SHINK!*  
A blade pierced though its chest as it fell to the ground, disintegrating as it fell to the floor. Rae was just able to make out a humanoid form in the shadows behind where it once stood. The figure walked towards Osiris, who was still on the ground in shock. Rae froze in place as the figure stepped forward, the light hitting their face.  
Staring down at Osiris was Uldren Sov.  
“We warned you it was going to be dangerous down here. Especially for the Ghostless.” The Ghost Rae and Ghost heard earlier appeared beside him, scolding Osiris who seemed less shocked now and more confused. “I’m…I’m glad to see we’re all okay, though.” The Ghost continued, trying to sound more optimistic, “I’m Glint, by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Osiris gave Glint a small wave as Adam glanced between Uldren and his Fireteammates. Rae’s eyes were wide in shock, while Blaze seemed more surprised, but Adam could see her hands shaking slightly.  
“Go on, introduce yourself.” Glint floated beside Uldren, motioning to Osiris and Fireteam Paralight.  
“They call me…the Crow.” He began, looking down at Fireteam Paralight, “My boss wants to see you.”  
“Impossible…” Ghost muttered.

* * *

Fireteam Paralight landed in the Tangled Shore at Thieves’ Landing. The trio had flown there in silence. Adam glanced between his teammates before speaking, “Ok, I’m can’t stand the awkward silence so I’m gonna say what we’re all thinking right now: Uldren’s a Lightbearer named Crow now. It’s weird and nobody saw it coming. Petra’s gonna flip, who knows how the Vanguard are gonna react, and a lot of Guardians aren’t gonna be happy. There, it’s been said.”  
“That’s not…entirely true.” Blaze muttered. Rae glanced at Blaze in confusion before a look of realization crossed her face, “You had a vision of this, didn’t you?”  
“I knew he had become a Lightbearer. I wasn’t expecting to see him on the Moon.”  
“And you didn’t think to give us a heads up?”  
“I was afraid that if word got out, it would’ve set off a man-hunt.”  
“Blaze.”  
“I know you’re mad, but he probably doesn’t even know who he is!”  
“Blaze.”  
“I just wanted him to have another chance. Away from Riven, away from the Scorn, away from Mar-”  
“Blaze!” Rae placed her hands on Blaze’s shoulders, “I’m not mad.”  
“You’re…you’re not?”  
Rae shook her head, “I’m with you. That isn’t Uldren we saw on the Moon. I could tell just by looking at him that it’s not the same person anymore. I don’t fully know what’s going on right now, but let’s find out before deciding on what to do next, okay?”  
Blaze nodded.  
“Okay. Let’s go see the Spider then.”

As they entered the Spider’s room, Crow transmatted in beside the Fireteam. “What’s this?” Spider leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at Crow, “Thought I told you to bring me the Warlock Osiris. Explain yourself.”  
“Osiris…” Crow began, but was cut off by Ghost, “Lost his Ghost. He’s gone back to the Tower to recover.”  
“You Lightmongers never cease to amaze me. You deal violence so easily and suffer loss so poorly.” Spider seemed to glance briefly at Rae and Blaze upon saying this, “Such fragile killers.”  
“We’ll finish what he started.” Rae replied, glaring up at the Fallen.  
“And what’s that, hmm?”  
“Avenge Sagira. Eliminate the High Celebrant.”  
“I had it in my sights.” Crow began before glancing at the Guardians beside him, “If your friend hadn’t needed saving.”  
Rae went to argue but was cut off by Spider addressing Crow, “You forget your place, little bird.”  
“My apologies, Baron.” Crow hung his head slightly.  
“Now then.” Spider once again turned his attention to Fireteam Paralight, “Perhaps we can help each other out, eh? I know how accomplished you are at exacting revenge.”  
Rae’s eyes narrowed at Spider as he chuckled to himself, “If you know something, just spit it out already instead of wasting time.”  
“Hmm…someone’s grown an attitude since we last worked together.”  
“The only thing we’ve grown is a lack of patience with you.” Blaze replied, “What do you know?”  
Spider leaned back in his chair, “Xivu Arath is using her High Celebrant and those damned cryptoliths to corrupt Eliksni. Cabal too. But I’m losing soldiers and Glimmer by the Skiff-load. I know what Osiris was doing on the Moon. And I know you’ll fare far better, given the, ah, proper motivation.” Spider turned to Crow, “Leave us, Crow. The Guardian and I have terms to discuss.”  
Crow turned and entered a side room, which Rae had noticed the last time she worked with Spider. As soon as Crow was out of earshot, the Fallen Baron turned his attention back to the three Guardians. My little bird sure is something, isn’t he? I have to imagine you share in my appreciation of fate’s cruel sense of humour.”  
“I’ll admit it’s ironic.” Rae replied, “Man who hated Guardians more than anyone else becomes one.”  
“Mind telling us how you got your greasy little claws on him?” Blaze asked.  
“Found him wandering the Reef like a piece of wind-blown trash. Aimless, hopeless. No memory of the prince he was. Now, I could have sent him off to the Tower, but…we all know what’s waiting for him there. I couldn’t let that happen, so I took him in. As a kindness.”  
“I could’ve arranged for him to receive Vanguard protection.” Rae replied.  
“Think you could’ve arranged it fast enough before someone put a bullet in his Ghost? Besides, let’s not pretend that your fellow Vanguard would be thrilled to see him.”  
Rae let out a quiet growl as she glared at Spider.  
“Thought so. As far as Crow’s loyalty is concerned, I took a few extra precautions and made some…modifications to his Ghost’s shell.”  
Rae narrowed her eyes in suspicion, “What ‘modifications’?”  
“If he ever flies too far from the nest…boom.”  
“You rigged Glint’s shell with explosives?!” Blaze exclaimed, a few odd flames flickering from her eye. “Spider, you’re lucky he isn’t a registered Guardian.” Rae growled, “Tampering with a Ghost’s shell is a serious offense and I am seriously tempted to let Blaze have her way right now.”  
“Let’s try to focus on the Xivu Arath problem for now. Even though I wouldn’t complain if Spider went up in flames…” Adam spoke up, muttering the last part under his breath. “Adam’s right.” Rae sighed in frustration, “I take it this is you asking for another partnership?”  
“Indeed.” Spider replied, “You go out there and do what it is you do best, and I’ll ah…lend you the resources you need to get it done. Maybe even a little extra something on the side, hm. Just don’t mention the name Uldren Sov. For his sake.”  
Rae was silent for a moment before sighing, “Fine. But know that if I hear of anything bad happening to Crow because of you, Xivu Arath won’t be the only one on our current to-kill list.”  
“Ha! Duly noted.” Spider chuckled as the Fireteam made their way into Crow’s workshop.

Rae glanced around the workshop as the trio entered. It was somewhat tidy aside from the odd clutter. Crow stood at a workbench and turned around as the Fireteam entered. “Crow, right?” Rae began as she approached him, “I never got the chance to properly introduce myself earlier on the Moon. I’m Vanguard Raegalia Drakyx, but most people call me Rae. This is my team, Fireteam Paralight.” Rae motioned to the Hunter and Titan behind her, “Adam, our Titan. And our Hunter, Blaze.”  
“It’s nice to meet you.” Crow nodded, “The Reef’s sky has holes in it…and the whole system’s in chaos. Of course, Xivu Arath decided now was the right time to corrupt herself an army.”  
“Makes sense.” Adam nodded, “Using the chaos to her advantage, hope the Darkness provides enough of a distraction to keep the Guardians from looking into it.”  
“Any info about these corrupted soldiers of hers?” Rae asked. “We call them Wrathborn.” Crow replied, “Most of them are Eliksni, like Spider. Others…hmph, well. Spider wants the lines of Glimmer open, Hive god or not. Asked me to help you deal with Xivu Arath’s High Celebrant.” Crow glanced at each of the Guardians briefly, “Apparently, the Guardians of the Last City are old friends of mine. But…I don’t remember you.”  
“I don’t blame you. All Guardians lose their memory upon being resurrected for the first time.” Rae shrugged, “Either way, we’re happy to help if it means avenging our friend. So where do we start?” Crow took out a large Hive-esque object from under the desk, “I found some Hive artifacts gathering dust in Spider’s trove and fashioned them into a lure. Wrathborn go crazy for them. When they take the bait…” Crow was silent for a moment, “I wish there were some other way. But her magic’s driven them mad. Hunting them down is the only way to weaken Xivu Arath’s grip on the Shore. Like Spider says…violence is the only language the Hive understand. For now, we can start small, work our way up her command chain. When we reach the High Celebrant, we’ll take it down. Stop Xivu Arath from corrupting anyone else.”  
“Sounds like a plan.” Rae took the lure from Crow, “We’ll charge this up, plant it at the cryptolith, and take down the Wrathborns that show up.” Crow gave them a nod and as they went to leave, he spoke up once more, “Hey…don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s…nice to be working with other Lightbearers.”  
“We look forward to working with you too.” Rae gave a kind smile before leaving the lair with Adam and Blaze. Crow stared at the workshop entrance for a moment, lost in thought, before shaking his head, muttering, “No…probably just a coincidence…” before returning to his workbench. But as he stood there, he found himself absentmindedly fiddling with something under his cloak.

A silver ring hanging from his neck with a fire agate stone.

_To Be Continued…_


	2. The Hunt Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Crow and Glint as their new allies, Fireteam Paralight set off on their first Wrathborn hunt where Crow and Glint realise that they may be working with the strangest Guardians in the system.

“Whoa…”  
“Wow.”  
“Yikes.”  
Fireteam Paralight stared up at the cryptolith which was sticking up from the ground. “That thing’s huge. Bigger than an Ogre at least.” Rae said as she examined it. “You think we might face Xivu Arath at the end of this?” Blaze asked. “Probably not, but it would be nice to add Hive god number four to the list.” Rae chuckled. “Four for you, Three for us.” Adam corrected, “I don’t know who’s the lucky ones here.”  
“So how do we use this thing?” Rae took out the lure and looked it over, “Is there a button? Lever? Magic word?”  
“Lemme see?” Blaze asked before being handed the lure. She stared at it for a moment before slamming it into the ground. “Blaze, I don’t think that’s how-” Rae was cut off as a screech pierced the air. “You were saying?” Blaze smirked as a large servitor appeared with a sickly green glow surrounding it along with several other Fallen. “It’s go-time, Paralight!” Rae called out, “Blaze, you focus on the wrathborn. Adam, help Blaze and watch her six. I’ll take out the extras from above.”  
“On it.”  
“You got it!”  
Rae glided up onto the roof of a nearby building and began taking out clusters of Fallen with her rocket launcher while Adam and Blaze went to town on the wrathborn. “The lure is doing its job.” Crow’s voice came through the comms, “At least that’s one thing going well.” Rae looked up and managed to just make out Crow amongst the shadows, sitting on what seemed like a bridge nearby, “Having a tough time finding a comfortable place to sit while we do the heaving lifting?”  
“A stone perch suits me well enough.”  
“When did these things start showing up here anyway?” Rae asked as she took out a large group of dregs with a rocket.  
“Not long after the disappearance of Mars from the Reef’s sky.”  
“So, this was recent enough then. About a week or so.” Adam noted.  
“Give or take. It’s hard to judge time here in the Shore.”  
“He’s not wrong. Hell, it’s hard to judge time on the Reef period.” Blaze added before a sudden look of mischief crossed her face, “Hey, Adam! Remember Sepiks?”  
“You mean…?” Adam raised an eyebrow with a smirk.  
“Oh Traveller, no…” Rae groaned.  
“What? What’s happening?” Crow asked.  
“I take back what I said. You might wanna stay on your perch.”  
Crow was about to ask what Rae meant by that but was interrupted by a happy yell as Adam picked up Blaze and launched her at the servitor like a javelin. Blaze used her dagger to dig into its top as the servitor began to whirl and thrash around, trying to shake the Hunter. Rae sighed, setting her launcher to the side as she watched Blaze go whizzing by on the robotic sphere, “You doing good?”  
“I’m doin’ good!”  
“You having fun?”  
“I’m havin’ fun!”  
“You crazy?”  
“I’m crazy!”  
Rae chuckled before noticing Crow climbing onto the roof beside her, seeming bewildered by Blaze’s antics, “I…what is happening…?”  
“This? Eh, I’d call it a regular Tuesday.” Rae shrugged. “I dunno. I’m getting hints of Friday and Saturday!” Adam called up. “With a hint of Wednesday.” Ghost added. “So, this is a regular thing?” Glint assumed. “Pretty much.” Rae chuckled. 

**“Incoming!”**  
In a moment of quick-thinking, Crow managed to grab Blaze’s arm as she was about to go sailing over the building. She had been thrown from the servitor’s back. “Thanks! Nice reflexes.” Blaze grinned, “But uh…”  
Blaze motioned to the wrathborn which disappeared, leaving a trail of green mist. “Is it…running away?” Rae asked. “That depends on whether or not you can stop it, Old Light.” Crow smirked. “Firstly, we’re only six, thank you very much. There are Guardians a hundred times older than us three.” Blaze folded her arms with a smirk of her own, “Secondly, I’m more concerned if you can keep up with the professionals, newbie!” Blaze gave Crow a playful nudge before leaping off the roof and dashing after the trail, “Race ya!” Crow gave a light chuckle before taking off after her. “If we’re the professionals, may the Traveler have mercy on those who look up to us.” Adam muttered to Rae who just laughed in response before the two ran after Blaze and Crow.

* * *

Crow came to a halt at the entrance to an underground cave. He turned around to see Blaze arrive just beside him. “Fast enough for you?” he asked with a smirk. “Not bad.” Blaze admitted with a smile, “But I was going easy on ya.”  
“I’m sure you were.” Crow chuckled as Rae and Adam caught up. “So, it went in here?” Rae asked, looking at the barrier formed at the cave’s entrance. “Seems like it.” Crow replied, “Must’ve put this barrier to keep undesirables out while it recovers.”  
“Well this undesirable is going in.” Blaze held out her arm as her facial markings flared to life and a small fireball was released from her hand, smashing the barrier. “I’ve…never seen a Guardian do that before.” Glint glanced in awe between Blaze and the now smouldering remnants of the barrier. “It’s a bit of a long story, but this isn’t a Guardian power. I’ve had it for as long I can remember.” Blaze replied, “I’ll explain another time.”  
“Well let’s go find that wrathborn before it finds us. And please don’t jump on it again.” Rae gave Blaze a warning look. “No promises.” Blaze grinned. “Of course.” Rae rolled her eyes playfully as they entered the cave. “They’re a unique bunch, aren’t they?” Glint whispered to Crow from his hood. “Better than most of the Guardians we’ve met.” Crow replied before following the Fireteam inside.

* * *

**_“YEEHAW!”_**  
“Why do I bother…?”  
Rae held her face in her hands as she stood with Adam and Crow while they watched Blaze hang on for dear life on top of the servitor wrathborn. “Should we help her?” Crow asked. “Nah, I…I think she’s got it.” Adam replied. Blaze’s cheers turned into struggling grunts as the wrathborn became more desperate in its thrashing. “Ok. Fun time’s over!” Blaze triple jumped off the servitor’s back and threw down an incendiary grenade, dealing the final blow. The wrathborn disappeared as Blaze landed on the ground where it once floated. “And that’s the end of that!” Blaze grinned with pride. “Uh, not quite.” Rae’s eyes widened, getting her auto-rifle at the ready as another green glow appeared on the other end of the room, “It brought a friend!” Blaze spun around to see a large captain appear with the same glow around it along with a few dregs, vandals and shanks, as well as a couple of smaller servitors. Blaze grinned, spinning Firelight around her finger, “Alright, Crow. You’re fast but let’s see how well you fight!”  
“Just don’t be mad when I steal your thunder.” Crow dashed by Blaze and hopped onto a ledge before aiming a sniper rifle and shooting down the incoming shanks and dregs. “Those servitors seem to emit some sort of energy!” Adam called out, “It might help taking down the wrathborn’s shield!”  
“I’ll handle them!” Blaze yelled back firing a few shots from Firelight at one of the servitors, “You and Rae focus on the big guy!”  
“Right!” Rae dashed for the pool of energy left over as Blaze finished off one of the servitors. Blaze turned to see one of the servitors approaching Crow, who didn’t see it approach while looking down the scope, as it charged up a shot. “Crow, on your left!” Blaze yelled as she whipped out her bow and, using her flames to light the arrows on fire, fired three perfectly aimed shots into its eye before sprinting towards it and finishing it off with a slice from her dagger. “You good?” Blaze asked as she fired a few more shots from her bow at another servitor while Crow continued to focus on the rest of the Fallen with his rifle, “I’m alright. Nice aim.”  
“Thank you~” Blaze grinned as she fired a final arrow into the servitor, “Finish it with style, Rae-Rae!”  
“Gladly!” Rae sprinted into the circle of energy as the signature golden wings and horns of her Starlight form appeared. Her falchion appearing in hand, Rae kicked off into the air and fired a beam of light down at the wrathborn, pulverising it. Rae landed where it once stood, giving her falchion a twirl before dismissing her Starlight form. “What was that?” Crow asked. “Starlight.” Blaze replied, “Rae’s a rare species called a Paralian and some of them can use powers like her to counteract powers related to Darkness. That’s how we got our Fireteam name: Paralight.”  
“Seems like you three aren’t the usual garden-variety Fireteam then.” Crow gave a wry smile as he placed his sniper rifle back on his back.  
“Nope!” Blaze smiled proudly, “We’re one of a kind!”

“Nice shooting out there.”  
Crow and Blaze noticed Rae and Adam approaching, the former addressing Crow. “Same to you. You’ve picked this up quickly.” Crow’s smile faded as he addressed the rest of the team, “But this is only the beginning. There are much more dangerous wrathborn than that one.”  
“You got it.” Rae nodded, “We’re no strangers to hard work. Like Blaze mentioned earlier, we’ve six years of experience under our belt, so we’ve experience dealing with…well for lack of a better term, crazy shit. We’ll have the High Celebrant dealt with before you know it.”  
“I sure hope so.” Glint replied, appearing beside Crow before turning to him, “And maybe once that’s done, the Spider will let us choose our own path.”  
“Don’t be so naïve.” Crow sighed, “He never lets us do anything.”  
“Something tells me you aren’t exactly happy under Spider’s watch, huh?” There was concern laced in Blaze’s voice as she said this.  
“Understatement of the century.” Crow replied, “But I’d much rather work for him than risk having Glint get destroyed.”  
Rae seemed to think for a moment, a serious look on her face, before shaking the thoughts from her head, “Let’s head back to the lair. Knowing Spider, he’s probably like…” Rae deepened her voice in an impression, “‘Where are those useless Guardians? I’m losing Glimmer every second, but I can’t be bothered to get off my ass and do something!”  
Crow stifled a laugh while Glint chuckled, “That’s pretty good!”  
“Thank you very much!” Rae grinned.  
“Well, we best not keep him waiting if that’s the case.” Crow began, “Let’s head back.”  
“Want another race?” Blaze asked.  
“Mad you lost the first one?”  
“Nah. Just wanna keep you on your toes.”  
“You’re on then.”  
Crow dashed to the entrance of the cave when-  
 _*zoooooooOOOOOO **OOOOOM!!!***_  
Blaze went flying by on a Sparrow while laughing.  
“Wha-?! That’s cheating!” Crow exclaimed.  
“You never set rules!” Blaze called behind her as she zoomed towards Thieves’ Landing, Crow chasing after her as Adam and Rae followed at a leisurely pace. “Looks like they’re getting along great.” Adam smiled. “Hmm…” Rae acknowledged, mind seeming to be elsewhere.  
“You ok?” Adam asked.  
“What Spider did isn’t right. Crow and Glint obviously want to get away safely.” Rae muttered, “I want to find a safe way to get them away. Even if they don’t go to the Tower, anything is better than working for Incy-Wincy.”  
“There’s another thing we should be concerned about.” Adam added, “Petra. If she finds out Uldren – er, Crow – is alive, she won’t take it well. None of the Awoken will.”  
Rae removed her helmet before running a hand through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh, “This is annoying…”  
“Hey, we’ll figure something out. Let’s focus on Xivu Arath’s Celebrant for now. Besides…”  
Adam was cut off as Blaze’s Sparrow whizzed by with a screaming Crow on is as Blaze chased after him yelling, “Off the gas! Take your hand off the gas!! Oh Light, Amanda’s gonna kill me. Crow!!”  
“I think having a clean slate is what they both need.” Adam finished with a chuckle. Rae couldn’t help but laugh as well at the scene, “I guess you’re right. I’ll try not to dwell on it for now. But mark my words, once we’ve dealt with this, I’m getting those two out of here in one piece.”  
“Knowing your determination, I don’t doubt it.” Adam smiled.  
 _“aaaaaaaaAAAAAAA **AAARGH!!!”**_  
The Sparrow went whizzing by again with Crow still riding it but now with Blaze being dragged along while holding on to the back of it for dear life.  
“Ah…maybe we should help them?”  
“Y-yeah…”

_To Be Continued…_


	3. Taking a Breather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a day of hunting, Crow invites Paralight to the Empty Tank bar for drinks where they run into Tif and the House of Light. There, they are also introduced to someone very close to Tif...

“Ugh…I’m never gonna be able to get that taste outta my mouth…”  
Crow and Fireteam Paralight re-entered the workshop. They had been hunting the wrathborns for a few weeks now with their search expanding to the Dreaming City. Blaze was groaning as piece of Hive guts got in her mouth during a hunt. “That’s what you get for not wearing a helmet.” Crow chuckled, leaning against the workbench. “Yeah, laugh it up, birdbrain!” Blaze glared, but with a small smile on her face. Blaze and Crow had developed a friendly rivalry during their few weeks together, which mainly involved them showing off to each other and ribbing each other. “Don’t mind him.” Glint popped out of Crow’s hood, “He’s just using your experience to make himself feel better about the Ogre incident.”  
“Glint!”  
“Ohoho! I wanna hear this!” Blaze grinned, eager to hear this story. “Ok, so we were hunting an Ogre and in the middle of the fight, he stops and asks, ‘If it shoots from its eyes, how the hell does it see?’ right before being blasted into a nearby rock.”  
“Oh my stars!” Blaze laughed. “It gets better!” Glint chuckled, “That was his fourteenth death that day!” Crow’s face turned a dark violet as he tried to hide it with his hood. “Don’t worry about it too much.” Blaze chuckled, calming down a bit, “I could write a novel of embarrassing things that happened to me when I was a Kinderguardian.”  
“She’s not overexaggerating either!” Firefly piped up. “Also, if you’re still curious,” Rae began, “Ogres are blind. They use hearing and smell to get around and locate enemies. Learned that back when we had a stealth mission aboard a Hive ship. If they can’t hear or see you, they can still smell you. Which can make stealth missions a pain.”  
“That’s actually really useful to know.” Crow jotted the information down in what seemed like a small notepad on his workbench. Blaze peered over his shoulder, “What’s that?”  
“I use this to take notes about enemies and fighting strategies.” Crow explained, “I figured if I’m going to be working with experienced Guardians such and you three and Osiris, I might as well learn something from it.”  
“Wow, your notes are neater than Blaze’s!” Rae laughed. “As long as I can read them, they’re fine!” Blaze stuck her tongue out at Rae who returned the gesture. Crow chuckled, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I could use a break. Anyone care to join me at the Empty Tank?”  
“What’s the Empty Tank?” Adam asked.  
“An Eliksni bar next to the lair. It’s owned by House Dusk, but members the Spider’s faction are welcome there.”  
“It also has a fighting pit, but I doubt anyone is currently in the mood for that.” Glint added. “Nah. My joints are a little sore from that last hunt.” Rae replied. “Now you really are starting to sound like an Old Light.” Crow chuckled. “Which is kinda funny considering she’s the youngest of us in Guardian years.” Blaze added. “Ok, ok. You can make fun of me later.” Rae rolled her eyes, “Let’s head out.”

* * *

As they entered the nightclub, a few Fallen went for their weapons but stopped upon seeing Crow with them and went back to what they were doing previously. “Looks like a lot of the Eliksni here respect you.”  
“They think getting on my good side will get them on Spider’s. It wont but I respect them.” Crow explained, “As for the other houses that show up, they’d rather enjoy their drinks than start trouble. If any other Guardian entered here, they’d probably be met with gunfire. But since you’re with me, they don’t care too much.” Rae glanced about the bar in curiosity when something stood out to her. Amongst a group of Fallen in yellow and red armour was a familiar human with dark brown hair and dark skin.  
“Tif?” Rae’s voice was barely audible over the noise of the bar. Tif looked up and their eyes lit up upon seeing Fireteam Paralight, “Oh my gosh, hi!” Tif practically jumped from their seat and enveloped Rae in a tackle-hug, “It’s great to see you guys again! What are you doing here?”  
“Dealing with the wrathborns. Crow brought us here to take a breather.” Rae explained. “Oh yeah! We heard some of Spider’s members talk about that. I feel really bad for the Eliksni trapped by Xivu Arath.” Tif then motioned to where their group was sitting, “Come sit with us!”  
“Sure!” Rae smiled before motioning to Crow, “By the way, this is Crow. He’s a new Lightbearer.”  
“Hiya! I’m Captain Tifawt Kariuki of House Light, but you can call me Tif.” Tif grinned.  
“The Lightborn Captain?” Crow asked.  
“You’ve heard of me?”  
“Spider talked about the House of Light a couple of times. Mentioned a Guardian who served as one of their Captains.”  
“That’s me!”  
Paralight and Crow sat at the table where Mithrax and some other members of House Light were. “Good to see you again, Mithrax.”  
“Greeting, Rae.” Mithrax replied. “So, what brings you guys here?” Blaze asked. Tif was about to answer when the music began to quiet down. Tif grinned excitedly, “You’ll see!”

As the bar went quiet, a young woman approached the DJ stand with a guitar. She had tanned skin, amber eyes and long brown hair that faded into a dark red and gold on one of her bangs. She wore a red, orange and gold poncho, that was longer towards the back, over brown, black and gold leather armour with matching boots. She also had very familiar markings on her face. She tuned her guitar before leaning towards the mic, “Velask, everyone. Good to be back on the Shore. I have a new one for you tonight: it’s a parody of an old pre-golden age song from humanity and I’ve rewritten the lyrics to fit one of humanity’s heroes.” That’s when her eyes landed on Rae, “And it looks like she’s here tonight. Hope ya enjoy it.” She took a deep breath before beginning to play.

_“When a captain small,_   
_Graced a ride along,_   
_With Rae of Paralight,_   
_Along came this song._   
_For when the Dragon fought,_   
_Skolas, Kell of Kells,_   
_Her and her Fireteam,_   
_At their feet, how he fell._   
_Cabal took the City._   
_Came close to victory._   
_Broke down the walls,_   
_And they kicked in their teeth._   
_The Dragon bared her fangs,_   
_And Ghaul fell at her feet._   
_The Dragon victorious,_   
_She can’t be beat!_   
_Beware of the Dragon,_   
_O' system of plenty!_   
_O' system of plenty, oh!_   
_Beware of the Dragon,_   
_O' system of plenty!_   
_In each and every world,_   
_She has fought them all:_   
_The Vex and the Hive,_   
_The Taken and the Scorn._   
_Survived every attack,_   
_And then she tossed them back,_   
_Deep into the Darkness,_   
_From whence they came._   
_She wiped out the pests,_   
_Light burning in her chest._   
_Protecting humanity,_   
_She’ll never rest._   
_Continue, does this tale._   
_Against Darkness, they’ll prevail._   
_Long live the Paralight,_   
_For they’ll never fail!_   
_Beware of the Dragon,_   
_O' system of plenty!_   
_O' system of plenty, oh!_   
_Beware of the Dragon,_   
_Protecting humanity!_   
_Beware of the Dragon,_   
_O' system of plenty!_   
_O' system of plenty, oh!_   
_Beware of the Dragon,_   
_Protecting humanity!_   
_Beware of Paralight,_   
_O' system of plenty._   
_O' system of plenty, oh._   
_Beware of Paralight:_   
_Saviours of humanity.”_

  
A round of cheers filled the bar as the woman left the DJ booth with her guitar and a vandal took her place, starting back up the music. She walked over to where Fireteam Paralight, Crow, and the House of Light were seated, receiving a few pats on the back from some of the Fallen. “Azzy, that was amazing!” Tif got up and gave her a hug. “Thanks, Tiffy.” She laughed, “I didn’t know Paralight themselves would be here. It’s an honour to meet you.”  
“It’s an honour to meet you to. And to have a song about us.” Rae smiled, “It’s nice to meet you.”  
“Wait.” Blaze began, “Tif, is this…?”  
“Yup! This is my girlfriend: Arcstrider Hunter, Azara Cazadora.” Tif grinned. “Tiffy’s told me a lot about you guys.” Azara began, “That song was based off what they told me about your adventures.”  
“I’m the captain small.” Tif beamed. “Because you are a smol bean and I love you.” Azara kissed Tif on the head as she sat down, setting her guitar down beside her. “Tif’s told us a bit about you too. Says you came to their rescue several times.”  
“Aha…it’s nothing that grandiose.” Azara scratched the back of her head sheepishly, a small blush arising, “I just help out as much as I can. Besides, I’d never forgive myself if they got hurt. Not that Tiffy needs protecting. They took down Phylaks by themself for Light’s sake!” At this, a few of the House of Light members cheered and patted Tif on the back. Azara’s attention turned to Blaze who seemed to be staring at her intensely. “Let me guess…the markings, right?” Azara chuckled, “It’s been a while since I met another one of us. Well. One that isn’t trying to kill me or kidnap me.”  
“What exactly are ‘us’?” Blaze asked, “I know we’re called Phyonysians and we use fire. But aside from that, I’ve been in the dark about everything.” Azara’s expression turned serious for a moment, “I’ll explain eventually, but not here. The walls have ears. Another time.” A relaxed expression returned to her face, “For now, drinks on me! I’m thirsty after that song.” She motioned for the barkeep to send them a round of drinks. A shank floated over to them a moment later with the drinks on its head. Blaze swirled hers a bit before knocking down the drink. Crow smirked as Blaze grimaced at the taste. “Oh, wow.” She groaned, “That’s- yep. That’s strong.” Crow chuckled, “Oh, by the way. This stuff isn’t very smooth.”  
“No kidding…”

“By the way,” Rae began, “Adam and I won’t be around tomorrow. Adam’s helping Saladin set up the Iron Banner and I’ll probably be getting an earful from him once he finds out about Guardians using Stasis. Which reminds me, Ghost?” Rae held out her hand and Ghost materialised a small card into her hand which she handed to Tif, “You’ll need this from now on.”  
“What’s this?” Tif asked, taking it and looking it over. “Stasis licence. Since I’ve been appointed Stasis Vanguard now, Zavala’s making me give these out to Guardians I deem fit to wield Stasis. If you use it without one, you could be punished. You’re technically not a registered Guardian but since you’ve worked on missions with us, I thought I should give you one to be safe.”  
“Ooh! Fancy!” Tif handed the card to Berhane to keep safe.  
“So, you two won’t be coming tomorrow?” Crow asked. “Unfortunately, not.” Rae replied, “But Blaze should be around if you two want to hunt on your own.”  
“I’m sure we can handle it.” Blaze grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t eat more Hive guts.” Crow smirked. “And I’ll make sure he doesn’t get blasted by an Ogre.” Blaze fired back with a smirk of her own.  
“Just make sure you two aren’t too busy ribbing each other to deal with the wrathborn.” Rae sighed.  
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on them.” Glint reassured.  
“Thanks, Glint.”  
Unbeknownst to Rae and Adam, something very interesting would transpire while they were away…

_To Be Continued…_


	4. As the Crow & Phoenix Flies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Led by a strange dream, Crow and Blaze travel to the EDZ to find answers to his mysterious visions. But they’re not alone as Savathûn’s forces seem to be swarming the area.

“Another day, another hunt.”  
Blaze transmatted down to Thieves’ Landing and began to make her way towards the entrance to the Spider’s lair. “What do you think we’ll be hunting today?” Firefly asked. “No clue.” Blaze replied. As they approached the entrance, something caught Blaze’s eye. Sitting on a crate was a glowing feather, seeming to be made of Light. “That’s odd…” Blaze muttered. “I dunno what it is, but I’m getting huge Light readings from it!” Firefly chirped as she fluttered around the feather. Blaze reached out to touch it but just as her fingers made contact with it, it disappeared followed by the screech of a bird and a disembodied voice echoing in her head.  
“I’m…soaring over trees, storm clouds at my back. There’s…there’s buildings crumbling into rust and ruin. I stop, briefly, on a vantage point overlooking…something. A grove, perhaps? It’s hard to remember.”  
“What was…?” Blaze muttered.  
“Whassup?” Firefly asked.  
“I heard a voice…I couldn’t quite tell whose. But It was describing a place. I…I think it was describing the Grove in the EDZ.” Blaze thought for a moment before turning around, “Change of plans. We’re going to the EDZ.”  
“You think there’s something there?”  
“Only one way to find out.”

* * *

Each feather led to a new place, and each added more pieces to the story through the strange thoughts that entered Blaze’s head, as it became more clearer as to whose voice it was.  
“I’m…somewhere. I know that’s not helpful. It’s a ruin, on Earth, I think. I’m flying, and there’s these…towers and…ships? I land on a broken, concrete pillar, and I see…myself? But it’s not me. I don’t think it ever was. I’m saying words I’ve never said, and…the Guardian is there. Yes, that one.”  
“No, not Earth this time. I was home. It was those gates. I had – I don’t know, a sense of dread? Vertigo set in, and I plummeted from the sky like I lost control of my wings. My heart hurt – ached – and I felt so much guilt and…and shame. Regret. No, I don’t remember anything else.”  
“Yes, again. It was like coming full circle, flying through those claustrophobic corridors. I could hear their horrible howling in the distance, in the dark. It was like when we were there. Except…I was alone. No one to save. I know, Glint. I know.”  
Crow.  
But Blaze still couldn’t understand it. What were those feathers? Why were they giving her snippets of a conversation between Crow and Glint? What were they even talking about? A dream? A vision? Memories of his previous life? There was only one way to find out for sure.  
Blaze entered Crow’s workshop. He seemed distracted as she approached – eyes holding a distant and far-away quality. But upon seeing Blaze, there was a dawning look of recognition, and for a moment, it’s as if he saw her with new eyes. But it wasn’t the look of an enemy. Nor a look of betrayal. It was the look of a friend. A look of trust.  
“All ok?” Blaze asked.  
“Not quite.” Crow replied, “Do you have a minute?”  
“Sure.”  
“Something’s been going on, and I’m…I’ve been having these strange dreams lately. Vivid. Real. Glint…Glint thinks there might be something to them. I’m flying. There’s a green forest. Mountains. European Dead Zone, I think. Sometimes the clouds part, and where there should be a bright blue sky, there’s just…darkness. I’m free…soaring toward a distant pillar of light. But the dream always ends the same way. That light…flickers like a candle flame and goes out. And then there’s…nothing.”  
“That sounds…disturbing.”  
“I know. And I can’t shake it. It’s all I think about…” Crow paused for a moment, as if pondering something before speaking up again, “Would you come with me? See if anything’s there?”  
“Of course.” Blaze smiles, “Gives us a break from the hunts. Race you to the Grove?”  
“You’re on.”

* * *

“This is it.”  
Crow and Blaze arrived at the entrance to the Hallowed Grove in the EDZ. “The geography matched my dream exactly. There was a bird? Or…I was a bird? Sometimes it’s hard to remember.”  
Blaze glanced about the area, “So, what now? Split up?”  
“Sounds good. I’ll scout the high route; you take the lower path?”  
“On it. Watch your back for Taken.” Blaze warned, “They’re running around like they own the joint.”  
“I’ll be careful.”  
The duo split up as Blaze crawled her way through the tight tunnels of the grove, “Do you remember anything else? About the dream, I mean.”  
“Someone was calling to me, but I couldn’t understand.” Crow replied through the comms, “It sounded like they were…underwater or down a long tunnel. Then…nothing.”  
“Hopefully we’ll find some answers here.”  
“Welcoming party dead ahead!” Firefly warned as Taken began to appear in a clearing in front of her. “Alrighty! Let’s have some fun.” Blaze smirked, bow at the ready, when she heard a bird-like screech, “Did…anyone else hear that?”  
“Affirmative! Did you notice the way the sound scatters in spectral analysis?” Glint replied. “Wha-? I don’t even know what that-”  
“I heard it too!” Firefly replied, “It resonated on the same frequency as the Traveller. Weird, right?”  
“Yeah. Whoa!” Blaze narrowly dodged a blast from a Taken Psion, “Ok, we’ll talk about the weird bird noises later. Fight Taken first.”  
“You mean the sound we just heard, or Crow’s singing?”  
“Glint!”  
“What? I haven’t forgotten karaoke night at the Empty Tank.”  
Blaze couldn’t help but chuckle at the two’s banter as she continued to shoot down Taken.

After finishing off the last of them, Blaze made her way to another tunnel where she spotted a small bird that disappeared shortly after being spotted, making the same noise Blaze heard earlier. “That hawk…it was made of Light.” Blaze muttered. “It was real. The dream, the bird.” Crow exclaimed, “I’ve got coverage on you from up here. I’ll watch your back when you go in. Be careful.”  
“Hey, it’s me! Being careful is all I know!”  
“I’m sure it is. Firefly, can you patch Glint into your feed? I need to see what’s in there.”  
“Okie-dokie! You’re patched in!” Firefly chirped as Blaze carefully made her way along the cliff edges, trying not to be shot off by the blasts of Taken energy.  
“I don’t understand how any of this is possible.” Crow sighed.  
“Guardians don’t experience visions of their past lives.” Glint added, “But there are historic records from the Dark Age detailing visions experienced by survivors of the Collapse.”  
“What were the nature of these visions?”  
“They varied. But the most widely held belief is they came from the dormant Traveller. Like the survivors were experiencing its dreams. If it dreams.”  
Blaze’s thoughts went to the vision she received of her and Uldren when she was first revived. ‘Was that from the Traveller and not the ring...?’ She shook the thought from her head and kept moving.

After fighting her way through a group of Taken, Blaze found herself in a clearing with a large shard emerging from the ground, made from a familiar material. “A piece of the Traveller?” Blaze muttered.  
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Taken are so active here.” Crow noted.  
“Savathûn?”  
“She knows about this. Has to.”  
“Taken!” Firefly alerted as more Taken began to appear. “Out here too!” Crow added, “We’ll cover the entrance!”  
“Right. It’s go time!”

* * *

Blaze panted heavily as she watched the last Taken disappear. “Crow, you good?” she asked, finally catching her breath.  
“Yeah. You?” Crow replied.  
“Still in one piece.” Blaze glanced at the shard and noticed the bird was sitting on a rock at the foot of it with a small object in front of it, “Birdy’s back. And it has something.”  
“What is it?”  
Blaze approached the bird and saw that the object looked like the shell of a gun – a handcannon to be exact. “I know this gun. Hawkmoon – or at least a part of it. A rare handcannon that was lost during the Red War when the original Tower was destroyed.”  
“Looks like an effigy of it.” Firefly added, scanning it, “It’s made of the same material as the Traveller’s outer shell!” Blaze picked up the effigy as the bird once again disappeared. “My dream.” Crow began, “The bird. The voice calling to me as the Darkness closes in. It’s not a coincidence; it’s a message.”  
“You think the Traveller’s trying to tell you something?” Blaze said while giving the effigy to Firefly to keep safe. “This may be the only way a paracausal entity like the Traveller can communicate with us.” Glint added.  
“Why me?” Crow asked.  
“I’ve always believed in my purpose as a Ghost. We are all part of a broader design. Now that the Traveller is awake and whole again…that plan is set in motion.”  
“I don’t know if I want to be somebody’s cosmic plaything.”  
“Let’s regroup at the Shore.” Blaze suggested, “See if we can figure out a way to restore Hawkmoon.”  
“Right. Meet you there.”

* * *

“It’s a cycle.” Crow said confidently as he looked over the effigy on his workbench, Blaze leaning against a wall next to it, “Life, death, rebirth…the Traveller is trying to tell us something in metaphor because it – or we – lack the words to have a true conversation.”  
“Why can’t things just be simple for once…?” Blaze groaned before standing up straight, “So how do we restore it?”  
“Hmm…” Crow picked up the gun and looked it over, “The crystals inside the frame, they’re dark but part of me is certain they should be glowing. Glint thinks we need to charge the crystals with Light…as if we’re trying to bring the gun back to life.”  
“Warlocks are usually good at that with their rifts.” Blaze muttered before sighing, “Unfortunately, ours is being chewed out by Saladin. A Paralian might be able to do it but, again, being chewed out by Saladin. Another is currently on Felwinter Peak. And the last one is-”  
“Right here.”  
Crow and Blaze jumped as Marcia decloaked right behind them. Crow went for his own gun but was stopped by Blaze, “It’s cool, it’s cool. She’s with me.” Blaze glared at Marcia, “A little more warning next time, Marcia?”  
“Sorry, sorry!” Marcia grinned. “What are you doing here, anyway?” Blaze asked. “Drifter has business with Spider. Got bored. Heard the familiar voice of a hot-headed Hunter. Here we are!”  
Blaze sighed, “Crow, this is Marcia: Nightstalker Hunter, right hand of the Drifter, and bane of my-”  
“S’up, Crow?”  
“Hello again, Marcia.”  
Blaze glanced confusedly between Marcia and Crow, “You- what- how-?”  
“I’ve met Marcia a couple of times when the Drifter would come to deal with Spider.” Crow explained. Blaze glared at Marcia who just shrugged. “We’ll talk about that later.” Blaze began, “But first we need your help.”  
“I know. I was listenin’. You need me to charge this with Light, right?” Marcia picked up the effigy, fiddling with it. “Can you do it?” Crow asked. “Of course!” Marcia grinned, “Charging stuff with Light is essentially a Paralian party trick. Watch this.”  
Marica took a few steps back as she pressed the effigy between the palms of her hands. She seemed to steady her breathing as she closed her eyes, focusing on the effigy. After a moment, the markings on her face and arm began to glow gold, as well as the effigy, as her eyes shot open – a golden glow emitting from them as a small pulse of Light was emitted from her hands. The glowing faded as Marcia removed a hand from the effigy. It looked more whole than before, but still not quite finished. “That’s the best I can do right now.” Marcia sighed, handing it back. “It’s still a great start.” Blaze smiled, taking the effigy, “Thanks Marcia!”  
“No biggie. Dredgens gotta have each other’s backs, y’know.” Marcia winked.  
“Mars, we’re goin’!” Drifter’s voice was heard from the other room. “Imma comin’!” Marcia called back before waving to the two Hunters as she left, “See ya later. Good luck with the gun!”

As Marcia left, Blaze turned to Crow, “Well, that saved us some time. What’s next?”  
“On our way back from the EDZ, I remembered something else.” Crow began, “A dream of a dream. You were carrying the effigy. It was simply radiant, charged with a power I’ve never felt before. We were taking it to the Shard of the Traveller, together, and then…I don’t know what happens next. But we’re going to find out.”  
“This would be the part where Rae tells us to proceed with caution and carefully plan out our next step.” Blaze sighed, “I guess we better do as she says.”  
Blaze and Crow looked at each other with serious expressions for a moment before slowly breaking into smiles. Blaze playfully punched Crow’s shoulder as they both hurried out of the workshop.  
Things were about to get interesting.

_To Be Continued…_


	5. I Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While investigating the EDZ, Crow show’s Blaze a hideout of his within the ruins of the dam. There, Crow opens up to Blaze about his feelings towards his past.

“I must say, you and Crow have very similar…er, flying styles.” Glint commented as Blaze and Crow transmatted into the EDZ. “Believe it or not, Rae’s worse!” Blaze laughed, “You’d be surprised how many times Ghost has scolded her for flying too fast!” Blaze glanced around the ruined remains of Trostland, “So where to?”  
“The Traveller sent us coordinates that seem to lead to the dam.” Crow replied.  
“Then lets go to the damn dam!”  
Crow let out a small chuckle at Blaze’s poor attempt at a pun, “That was awful.”  
“They only get better from here, bud.”  
“She means worse!”  
“Firefly!”  
Crow laughed as Blaze scolded her Ghost, which caught her off guard as she hadn’t ever heard him fully laugh. Not in Crow’s lifetime anyway. She couldn’t help but smile, happy that Crow was seeming to become more comfortable around her. “Anyway, let’s go before the Taken welcoming party show up.”  
“We’re going into the deep inside, so there should be less activity.” Crow nodded, “Follow me. I know a shortcut.” Crow lead Blaze through a series of old ruined buildings. “Do you come out here often?” Blaze asked. “Not as much since we met, but I used to when on assignment.” Crow replied, “It’s quiet out here. No one to bother me…hmph, or for me to bother.”  
That’s when Blaze realised it. Crow has bound to have run into other Guardians before being found by Spider. Guardians who weren’t as forgiving or willing to move on as she and her Fireteam were. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what he had gone through since being revived by Glint.  
“Watch your step.” Blaze was brought out of her thoughts as she and Crow arrived at a large, broken pipe, “It’s through here.” Crow entered the pipe and slid down it into another ruined area of the dam. He turned around to make sure Blaze had made it in.  
 _“…whooooooOOOOO **OOOHOOOOO-**_ **WHOA!”**  
“ARGH!”  
Blaze came flying out of the pipe and crashed straight into Crow, the two tumbling to the floor. “Ow…sorry…” Blaze groaned, rubbing her head.  
“Um, Blaze?”  
“Hm?”  
That’s when Blaze noticed she was laying on top of Crow. “A-ah! Sorry!” Blaze quickly got off him, her face a dark blue, as she helped him up. “It’s alright.” Crow replied, “Be careful up here, we need to cross on a thin pipe.”  
“R-right!” Blaze grinned, trying to hide her blush. _‘Blaze, you idiot, you’re supposed to be over this!’_ Blaze scolded herself in her head as she followed Crow across the pipe. She brushed it off as seeing things, but she swore she had saw him blush too…

As they made their way further in, Crow suddenly stopped, “Hey, do you mind if we take a detour? I want to show you something.”  
“Sure!” Blaze replied as Crow led her through a debris filled hallway and into a room that was visible through a fallen-in wall. “Don’t mind the mess. Glint’s a terrible maid.” Crow joked. “What is this place?” Blaze asked, glancing about the objects scattered about the room. “This is just where I come to…get some distance when I need it.” Crow sighed, “Someplace to call my own.”  
“It’s his Crow’s Nest.” Blaze could hear the smile in Glints voice as he popped out beside Crow.  
“It absolutely is not.” Crow glared at Glint who went back to hiding in his hood. Blaze looked around the room before her eyes landed on a cluster of wine bottles. “Crow, do we need to have an intervention?” Blaze chuckled. “I didn’t drink that by myself.” Crow rolled his eyes, “In fact I didn’t have any of it. After Glint brought me back to life, I quickly came to realise that Guardians recognised me as whoever I was before.” Crow paused for a moment, “They…weren’t always kind. So I took to wearing a helmet to hide my face. Before Spider.”  
“Unfortunately, not all Guardians are good people.” Blaze sighed, “There have been Guardians who’ve used their powers for ill or have given into temptation. Some are just straight up cruel.”  
“Guess I was lucky to get a kind bunch.” Crow smiled. Blaze smiled back before something caught her eye, “Hold up.” She walked over to a blue bowl with golden markings on it, “These are Dawning patterns.”  
“Oh, right. Glint gave this to me.”  
“It was a gift.” Glint added, “It was the Dawning. Your first Dawning.”  
“This year’s Dawning should be starting soon.” Blaze suddenly had an idea, “I should see if Rae can convince Spider to let you come to the Tower for Dawning! You’d love it!”  
“As much as I appreciate the offer,” Crow sighed, “I fear I might not be welcomed by the Guardians there.”  
“In the words of a certain kind old lady that comes to visit us, ‘The Dawning is for everyone’. That includes you. And if anyone tries to say otherwise, they’ll have me and my flames to answer to!”  
Crow seemed surprised at first before giving a small smile, “Thank you.” Blaze grinned back in return before noticing the sheet underneath the bowl. Crow followed her gaze to it, “My first memories are of waking up under this shroud. The first thing that was mine.” He placed a hand on it, “It was comforting somehow. I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. Someone cared enough to lay me to rest. I meant something to them, whoever they are, and that…means something to me.” Blaze tried not to let Crow the sombre expression that had sneaked onto her face. She remembered how much she had to pester Petra to allow her to hold a proper funeral for Uldren. If it weren’t for Jolyon also proposing it, she probably never would’ve succeeded. Blaze wanted to tell Crow so desperately who she was, but she knew it would only hurt him. Besides, he wasn’t the same person she had fallen for in her past life. It wouldn’t matter.  
So why?  
Why did she feel…?  
“I’m not stupid.”  
Blaze was brought back again by Crow, “I know…the person I used to be, he did something terrible. I can feel it when people look into my eyes and see him. The way Rae and Adam looked at me when we first met. I don’t ever want to know him. However…” Crow looked to Blaze, “The look you gave me was…different. And I couldn’t figure out how. That was…” Blaze watched as he removed something from under his cloak and hand it to her, “…until Rae told me your name.” Blaze looked down at what Crow had handed to her and let out a small gasp.  
A silver ring with a fire agate, the words ‘Blaisel Kiria. My phoenix’ engraved on the inside, hanging from a silver chain. “You kept it…” Blaze muttered. “I asked Rae about it. She said it should be up to you if you tell me or not.” Crow continued, “Like I said, I don’t want anything to do with who I used to be. But…I feel like giving this back to you might at least give you respite.”  
Blaze stared down at the ring, thinking over her choice of words carefully. “I…” she began, “I’m not too good with words. Saying comforting and meaningful stuff is usually Rae’s department. I just add the optimistic side-commentary.” Black chuckled, “But the person you used to be…we were close back then, until…something really bad happened. I know you’re not him. I came to terms with that a long time ago.”  
Crow gave a nod.  
“But who you were doesn’t matter.”  
This caught him by surprise as Blaze continued, “What matters is who you choose to be now. That person died a long time ago. He’s gone. And now you’re here. Only you get a say in who you are now. Not me. Not Spider. Not any Guardian. You.” Blaze smiled, “And I’ll be right here if you need me. I promise.”  
Crow searched her eyes for any deception or misleading, but all he saw was genuine honesty and kindness – something he had rarely seen in any of the Guardians he met. It was Blaze’s turn to be caught off guard as she was suddenly enveloped in a hug. “…thank you.” Crow’s voice was barely above a whisper – Blaze probably would’ve missed it if she wasn’t paying attention. Blaze smiled and gently hugged him back, “You’re welcome.”

* * *

“Somethings happening.” Glint alerted, “I’m detecting massive gravity distortions in the dam!”  
“I know. We can see them!”  
Blaze and Crow watched as large boulders floated about the large room. “Savathûn likes zero-g apparently.” Blaze half-joked.  
“You think she’s capable of this?” Crow asked.  
“It’s Hive. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had means to make the entire Last City float. Here I thought doing the impossible was more of a Paralight trope.”  
“That would explain why you’re so good at taking them down.”  
“Taken welcoming committee inbound!” Firefly chirped as the tell-tale glow of incoming Taken appeared. “Shall we?” Crow offered his hand. Blaze smirked, taking his hand, “Hell yeah!” The duo jumped down as the Taken appeared, weapons at the ready.

* * *

“You could nearly hear what that last Taken was thinking when you threw that grenade! ‘Nooo! Why would Sava-loon send me to such a horrible fate?! Curse you, Blaze and Croooooooooow!’” Blaze yelled dramatically as she reloaded her gun.  
“You’re so strange.” Crow laughed.  
“Hey. I’m one of the more normal people in the Tower. You think I’m strange, wait ‘til you meet the grenade-obsessed Titan that is Shaxx!”  
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”  
Blaze stuck out her tongue as she holstered Firelight, “So now what?”  
“As we finished that last Taken, I…felt something.”  
“Was it actually saying that telepathically to you?”  
Crow stifled a laugh, “Blaze, I’m serious!”  
“Sorry, sorry! Go on!” Blae giggled.  
“It was a yearning. For change…for adventure.” Crow smiled awkwardly, “It feels childish, but it’s like the gun – or maybe the Traveller – wants us to experience triumph.”  
“It might have something to do with elevated states of emotion.” Glint added, “Like you need to attune your minds to a specific wavelength.”  
“Like a happy radio?” Firefly asked.  
“Something like that.”  
“I think we should try.” Crow asserted before turning to Blaze with a determined expression, “Together?”  
“Together.” Blaze smiled.

* * *

“There’s increased Taken activity here.” Glint alerted as Blaze and Crow traversed the grove once more, this time staying together, “It’s going to be much more dangerous than last time.”  
“Good thing we’re here to back you up.” Crow added. “Yeah! Savathûn’s got nothing we can’t handle.” Blaze smiled, brimming with confidence, “C’mon. The shard should be right…over…” Blaze’s smile fell as they turned the corner. Where the shard once was, was now a large orb of Taken blight as Taken began to appear. “What have they done?!” Crow exclaimed, “What are they doing?! We have to stop this!”  
“I’ll take left side, you take right!” Blaze called out as she made a dash for the Taken on the left of the blight while Crow began shooting at the Taken on the right. Blaze sliced through some of the smaller Taken with her dagger before focusing on some of the larger ones with her bow. “Blaze, behind-!” Crow’s voice didn’t reach her on time as Blaze felt a searing pain in her back while being thrusted forward into the rocky wall. A loud snap was heard, but it didn’t come from Blaze.  
“Oh no, NO!” Blaze exclaimed as she picked up her bow. Or rather what was left of it. It had snapped in half from the force with the fiery feather snapped from the chain holding it to the bow’s frame. She failed to notice the large Taken captain about to fire at her from point blank.  
 **“BLAZE!”**  
Blaze felt a wave of heat as the Taken screeched out in pain. She looked up to see it growling at something off to the side. Across the way was Crow surrounded by a fiery golden glow with a furious expression and a flaming handcannon pointed at the Taken captain. Not just any hand cannon, though.

Hawkmoon.

_To Be Continued…_


	6. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Working together, Crow and Blaze take down the Taken ambush and restore Hawkmoon. As they celebrate their victory in the EDZ, Blaze comes to terms with her feelings towards Crow.

Crow kept his gaze trained on the Taken captain as he fired several more shots of the Golden-Gun-influenced Hawkmoon directly at it. The Taken roared in pain, quickly forgetting about Blaze, as it charged at Crow, firing its gun at him. Crow managed to dodge out of the way of its shots. The Taken went to claw at Crow but reeled back as Blaze, now out of her shocked stupor, fired several shots from Firelight at its hand. “Try it, you bastard!” she growled. She lunged towards the Taken, switching to a sword before slashing at it vigorously, making sure it never got a chance to raise its gun, “Crow!”  
“On it!” Crow, whose Golden Gun had now run out, fired a round from Hawkmoon into the back of its head. Now extremely aggravated, turned its focus towards Crow and teleported to him, raising its weapon to clobber him with it. In a moment of quick thinking, Crow switched to his own sword an used it to block its attack. He felt himself pushed backwards by the force of the weapon hitting the sword but managed to keep his stance. Blaze felt herself start to panic. She needed to get that Taken away from Crow, but Firelight wasn’t strong enough to push it back and she couldn’t risk getting close to it with her sword without getting her own head bashed in. ‘Ok, screw it.’ Blaze felt her body begin to heat up. “Crow, move!!” Blaze yelled out, flames beginning to emerge from her eyes. Crow glanced between Blaze and the Taken before dodging to the side, the Taken’s weapon barely missing him. He made sure to get a few feet away from it, “Blaze, whatever you’re planning, do it now!” Blaze focused as flames began to gather in her hands, forming a ball in her hand that began to grow bigger and bigger, and with a yell, threw it straight at the Taken. The flames began to engulf it, causing it to screech in pain, as the flames began to glow brighter and brighter, “Crap, over did it!” Blaze cursed under her breath as she dashed towards Crow, “Get down!!” Blaze tackled Crow to the ground as the fireball exploded outward. The two felt the heat from the flames flew over their heads. 

Finally, the screeching stopped.

Blaze and Crow slowly got to their feet. The Taken captain was gone, a scorch mark on the ground where it once stood. “Well...” Crow breathed, “I’m never getting on your bad side.” Blaze chuckled before looking down at Hawkmoon, which had fallen out of Crow’s grip after Blaze pushed him down, “How…?”  
“I’m not sure myself.” Crow began, “I saw you in danger and...I felt my Light begin to surge within me. And the next thing I knew, I was firing Hawkmoon and it was on fire. What was that?”  
“Golden Gun. It’s the Hunter’s solar super.” Blaze gave Crow a playful nudge, “Your Light’s getting stronger! You’ll be able to give me a run for my money soon.” Crow motioned to the scorch mark, “I don’t think so. I’d rather not turn into a pile of ash.” Crow spotted the broken remains of Blaze’s bow. Blaze followed his gaze and sighed, picking up the broken pieces to hand to Firefly. “I’ll find a way to fix it. It’ll be hard, but not impossible.” Blaze smiled, but Crow could hear a hint of sadness in her voice, “Besides, I have my Malfeasance to hold me over until then.” Blaze then turned her attention to the scorched earth, “That attack was definitely Savathûn’s doing. She was probably trying to stop us from communing with the Traveler.”  
“And failed.” Crow added, handing Hawkmoon to Blaze, “Hawkmoon is whole again. Reborn. She can’t take that from us.”  
“True.” Blaze’s expression turned grim, “But there’s still one last thing we need to do.”  
“What?” Crow was confused by Blaze’s sudden change in demeanour. She grinned as she playfully punched his shoulder, “Celebrate! Grab the wine from the nest and I’ll set up a campfire?” Crow laughed, “Sounds like a plan!”  
“Please don’t get drunk by a fire.” Glint begged.  
“No promises!” The two said in unison.

* * *

“But you saw me, right? I was on fire and was like _‘bang’!_ ”  
“I saw ya!”  
Blaze couldn’t help but laugh as Crow giddily recounted their fight, making a gun shape with his hand and a near-empty bottle in the other hand which he used like a sword. She and Crow were outside the EDZ, celebrating their victory over the Taken and successfully restoring Hawkmoon. The two were a bit buzzed from the wine as the fire Blaze had set up a while earlier was beginning to die. “And then your fireball, oh my Light. I’m pretty sure my jaw was hitting the floor because that was incredible- oof!” Crow ended up falling to the ground. “You okay?” Blaze laughed. “I’m okay. _Bang!_ ” Crow made the gun shape again, still on the ground and seemingly unfazed by his fall. Blaze chuckled, turning the embers with her sword before walking over to Crow and lay down beside him. Ghost and Glint were conversing off to the side while their Guardians just lay there, laughing at their own ridiculousness.  
“Today was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in a long time.” Blaze smiled as they calmed down. “Today was the most fun I’ve had, period.” Crow added. “Which reminds me.” Blaze sat up and pulled Hawkmoon out of her holster and handed it to Crow, “This belongs to you.” Crow glanced between Blaze and the gun as he sat up as well, “Are…are you sure?” Blaze nodded, “I saw you use it out there. And considering you were the one who received the dreams, and it was your Light that completed its rebirth, I say you deserve it.” Crow took the gun in his hands before looking back at Blaze with a soft smile, “Thank you. Not just for the gun, but for everything. Spending today with you…it’s the happiest I’ve ever been. I’ve never felt like this before.”  
“The feelings mutual.” Blaze smiled, “The past couple of years have been…stressful, to say the least. I can’t remember the last time I’ve actually had fun on a mission. Granted, not all missions are fun, but the time I’ve spent with you, between this and the hunts, it’s been amazing.” She took his hand in hers, “You’re amazing…”  
Crow smiled, lightly squeezing her hand, “I could say the same about you, honestly.” Blaze felt the heat rise to her face – not in the way that indicated her powers activating. She seriously hoped Crow couldn’t hear her heart pounding. That’s when she realised it. The feelings she had been experiencing. The happiness she felt when fighting side-by-side with him. The amount of care she had for him. She wasn’t feeling this way because of Uldren. She was feeling this way because of Crow.

She was in love with Crow.

“Can…” Crow began nervously, pulling Blaze from her thoughts as a small blush appeared on his face, “Can I kiss you?”  
For what seemed like the first time ever, words failed Blaze as she felt her blush deepen. All she could do was nod. Crow’s free hand brushed the hair covering her scarred eye to the side as he gently cupped her cheek, his washed orange eyes gazing into her bright flame-coloured ones, as Blaze placed hers on his shoulder. After what felt like forever, the two’s lips met halfway. If Crow couldn’t hear her heartbeat before, Blaze was certain he could hear it now. She could barely focus on anything other than the kiss. It felt familiar yet new at the same time. The two Ghosts ceases their conversation upon seeing their Guardians and ducked behind a nearby rock to give them privacy. “You owe me 10 glimmer~” Firefly whispered in a sing-song voice. “I know, I know.” Glint sighed, yet he couldn’t help but feel glad seeing his Guardian at his happiest since they first met. The two Lightbearers finally pulled away for air, their foreheads touching. “I love you.” Crow breathed, the words seeming to fall out on their own. Blaze smiled as her head rested in the crook of his neck, wrapping her arms around him, “I love you too.”  
The two sat there by the dying fire as Blaze slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Blaze let out a light groan as she slowly woke up. She was no longer in the wilds outside the EDZ, but in Crow’s nest within the ruins of the dam. Crow must have brought her here after she fell asleep last night. Last night… Blaze felt her face heat up at the memory. That’s when she noticed Crow asleep beside her, arms wrapped around her. His cloak and the heavier parts of his armour removed leaving him in his white shirt and red trousers. Blaze couldn’t help but smile at the peaceful expression on his face – Uldren used to look grumpy when he slept. Jolyon would call it resting prince face as a joke. Blaze lightly chuckled at the memory. This caused Crow to stir is his sleep before slowly starting to wake up.  
“Good morning.” Blaze greeted.  
“Morning…” Crow mumbled.  
“Hungover?”  
“Yeah…”  
“Me too.”  
Blaze sat up and stretched. She was still in her lighter armour and one-piece, but her cloak and metal plating was removed. “We better head back to the Shore before the Spider and Rae start to think we died or something.”  
“Good idea.” Crow groaned, getting up in spite of the thumping in his head, “You think Rae has aspirin?”  
“Knowing the amount of headaches I give her, she should.” Blaze chuckled, earning a laugh from Crow. “She called earlier.” Firefly popped up beside her Guardian, “I told her you were camping out in the EDZ and you’d meet up with her in the Shore.”  
“Thanks, Fly.” Rae smiled as she put on her boots, cloak and plating as Crow put on his own armour.

* * *

“There you two are!”  
Rae was waiting in Crow’s workshop with Adam when the two arrived back at the shore, “What happened yesterday to end up with you two camping in the EDZ?”  
“It’s a long story.” Blaze laughed. Rae was about to question it but stopped upon noticing Blaze hand was intertwined with Crow’s. Rae just smiled knowingly, “Well, I hope you two aren’t too tired for today’s hunt. We got a new lead for a wrathborn in the Dreaming City. You in?”  
“Always.” Crow nodded. “Ready!” Blaze grinned.  
The four Lightbearers left the lair, ready for whatever the day had in store for them.

“By the way, I may have broken my bow yesterday.”  
“… _ **how?!”**_

  
_To Be Continued…_


	7. A Cold War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawning is here at last! To celebrate, Blaze brings Crow to the Tower. However, things take a very chilly turn thanks to Cayde.

“I can’t believe this is happening.”  
It had been a little over two weeks since Blaze and Crow’s mission to restore Hawkmoon. The two were currently in Blaze’s ship and were flying towards Earth. “How did you manage to convince Spider to let you do this?” Crow asked  
“He needed some items delivered to Drifter, so I promised him that I’d deliver them if you got to come over for the Dawning.” Blaze replied.  
“And you’re sure no one will try to shoot at me or Glint?”  
“100%. Use of weapons, abilities, and Supers in the Tower is forbidden unless in the case of an emergency. And if anyone tries, they’ll have Rae to answer to and, trust me when I say this, she is damn scary when she’s angry. Something she definitely gets from Ikora…” Blaze muttered the last part. “I’ll admit, I’m still a little nervous.” Crow shuffled in his seat a bit, “The Vanguard probably know of what my past self did. To say things will be awkward is an understatement.”  
“Don’t worry about that either. Rae and Osiris gave them a heads up as to what’s happening. As far as they’re concerned, that man is dead and you’re a Kinderguardian celebrating the Dawning.” Blaze reached a hand back and held Crow’s, “It’ll be great. I promise. And I won’t leave your side for a second.” Crow gave a slight smile as he squeezed Blaze’s hand, feeling a little less anxious.

“We’re here!” Firefly chirped happily, as the ship arrived in the Tower hanger. “Ready?” Blaze asked. “As I’ll ever be.” Crow replied. The duo transmatted out of Blaze’s ship into the hangar. “Whoa…” Crow breathed, looking around. The huge hanger was decorated with Dawning decorations and lanterns, with piles of snow lying about. Blaze chuckled, “You’re making the exact same face I made when I first came here.”  
“Sans the nearly burning the Tower down!” Firefly giggled.  
“H-hey!”  
Blaze began to chase Firefly in a circle, the latter dodging and weaving out of her grasp.  
“Well I’m not wrong!”  
“That doesn’t mean you should say it!”  
“Why? Afraid I’ll embarrass you in front of your boyfriend?”  
“FIREFLY!”  
Crow let out a small laugh before hearing a voice yell from nearby.  
“What’s with all the noise over there?”  
Blaze stopped chasing Firefly, allowing the Ghost to disappear, as Cayde poked his head from around the corner. Crow wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly felt a pang of uneasiness. He quickly dismissed it as nerves as Cayde noticed him. “So this is the new Light, huh?” Cayde asked, walking over to the two. “Yep! Cayde, this is Crow.” Blaze introduced, “Crow, this is Cayde; the Hunter Vanguard.”  
“Welcome to the Tower, Crow.” Blaze could hear a hint of mischief in Cayde’s voice, “And just in time too. Let’s go!” Cayde grabbed Crow and Blaze by the arms and began to drag them towards the courtyard. “In time for what?!” Crow exclaimed, caught off guard by the Exo’s sudden enthusiasm. “You’ll see!” Cayde called over his shoulder. Crow looked at Blaze who just shrugged and gave him a look as if to say, ‘See where I get it from now?’.

* * *

In the courtyard, Zavala was giving a short speech to some of the Guardians for the Dawning in hopes it would keep spirits up. Adam, who was among the Guardians, couldn’t help but glance around in suspicion. “You’re quieter than usual, Bergfalk.” Shaxx noted. “Have you noticed the distinct lack of Hunters here?” Adam asked, “Plus it’s too quiet. I think something’s afoot.”  
“Relax, Titan! I understand your unease due to recent events, but it’s the Dawning! Who would disrupt-?”  
“Attention Zavala and Titans!!”  
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the platform above Eververse. Cayde stood looking down at them with a confident stance along with Blaze, who was smirking with pride, and Crow, who seemed a little confused as to what was happening. “Earlier this year, you won the Guardian Games and took the trophy that Zavala so proudly displays at his post.” Cayde continued, “But today, we issue you a challenge! A snowball fight! If the Hunters win, we get to have the trophy for the rest on the Dawning!”  
“He’s still not over the loss, is he?” Shaxx muttered. “Nope.” Adam replied with a sigh.  
“And what if I refuse, Cayde?” Zavala called up to him.  
“You can’t, because…”  
Suddenly, Hunters sprung from their hiding places around the courtyard.  
“We have you surrounded!” Cayde laughed triumphantly, “You’ll never prevail!”  
To their surprise, Zavala chuckled, “Impressive strategy, Cayde. However, very predictable.”  
“W-what?!”  
“I saw your attack coming…and planned for it. Ikora, Rae?”  
Out of nowhere, Ikora teleported herself and Rae behind Cayde, Blaze and Crow as Warlocks flooded the courtyard. “You hired the Warlocks?!” Blaze exclaimed while Cayde stared at Rae with a look of betrayal. “Sorry, everyone. But this rebellion of yours must be stopped.” Ikora said with a small smirk on her face, “Ready, Rae-?”

 _ ***SPLAT!***_  
Ikora was caught off-guard as a snowball hit her in the side of the head, followed by a small chuckle that evolved into an evil laugh from Rae. “Hahaha! I fooled you, Ikora!”  
“What?!”  
“Sorry, teach. But I will always be loyal to my chaotic companions!” Rae grinned, standing by the trio of Hunters. “Yay, Rae!” Blaze cheered. “Ah, I knew you’d never betray me, Sunrae!” Cayde laughed, giving Rae a playful nudge before turning to the Titans below, “With that being said: Mission is a go! Retrieve the trophy and bring it to the hangar! Hunters, attack!!!”  
“Do not let up, Titans!” Zavala commanded.  
The courtyard was filled with shouts and snowballs, a few Guardians sneaking in Stasis snowballs. Surprisingly enough, the Hunters were able to overpower the Warlocks and Titans.  
“We got it!!”  
Everyone turned to see Rae, Crow and Blaze lifting the trophy. “Protect them until we get to the hangar!” Cayde called out, “Go, go, go!!!”  
The trio ran as quickly as they could with the trophy in tow. “Hurry! I’ll cover you!” Marcia waved to them from the hangar entrance as she pelted the incoming Titans and Warlocks with snowballs, “Dredgens! Protect Dredgen Fate and her friends!”  
A group of Guardians in Gambit gear came flooding out of the hangar, keeping the Titans and Warlocks back.  
“Since when were you a Dredgen?!” Rae exclaimed.  
“Over a year ago. I got bored!” Blaze replied.  
“We’re almost there!” Crow called out as they made it to Cayde’s post.  
“Hurry! Set it up!”  
The trio carefully stood the statue upright at the post. “I’m here!” Cayde came rushing into the Hanger with white and gold spray paint. “It’s not permanent, right?” Rae asked. “Of course not! I’m not a monster!” Cayde replied as he began to spray the lion white after handing Blaze the other spray can, and she began spraying the snake gold. “Aaaaand done!” Cayde announced as the Hunters came flooding into the Hangar, Marcia in the front. Marcia threw her hands up in victory upon seeing the trophy, “VICTORY!!!”  
A cheer went up among the Hunters and Dredgens as Zavala and Ikora entered behind them. “Well, a deal is a deal.” Zavala sighed, despite the small smile on his face, “Hunters are the temporary victors for the Dawning.”  
“Is it always like this here?” Crow asked with a chuckle, trying to be heard over the thunderous cheering. “Oh yes!” Blaze laughed.

As the Guardians began to filter out of the hangar, Rae smiled as she brushed off some leftover snow that was stuck to her robes and fixed her scarf, “Sorry your first time here was a little crazy, Crow.”  
“A little?” Glint mumbled as he shook snow off his shell – he had gotten hit in the crossfire. “Trust me, this is only a little bit crazier than normal life here!” Sundance popped up beside Cayde, “Oh, and I’m Sundance, by the way. Cayde’s ghost and 50% of his impulse control. Rae’s the other 50.”  
“Hey, I’m not that impulsive!” Cayde feigned offense.  
“Alright, mister _‘I-got-stuck-in-a-Vex-teleport-loop’_!”  
“That was ONE time!”  
“And who had to save you again?” Rae raised an eyebrow as she folded her arms.  
“The Warlock who I love and can always count on to save my life?” Cayde shot double finger guns and a wink at Rae who tried to keep a straight face but ended up snickering at Cayde, “Stop trying to be cool! I can’t be serious when you do!”  
“Not trying, ‘cause I am cool!”  
“Ew! Stop flirting!” Sundance groaned before disappearing. “It’s been two years, you should be used to it by now!” Cayde called after her as Rae giggled.  
“Are they…?” Crow began with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile.  
“Yep.” Blaze finished with a smile before whispering, “They were crushing on each other for like four years and it was super obvious to everyone except them.”  
“That long? It took us only a few weeks.”  
“I know, right?”  
“What are you two whispering about over there?” Rae asked with suspicion. “Nothing!” Blaze smiled innocently as Crow let out a light chuckle. “Riiight.” Rae rolled her eyes playfully as Zavala and Ikora approached the group. “So is this the new Lightbearer you and Osiris told us about?” Ikora asked. “Yep.” Rae replied, “Crow, this is Ikora – the Warlock Vanguard – and Zavala – the Titan Vanguard and the Guardians’ commander.”  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” Crow greeted. “Rae and Osiris have informed us of the situation with Xivu Arath. It’s good to hear Fireteam Paralight have been receiving help in handling her minions.” Zavala nodded.  
“Not that hunting Hive Gods is anything new to you three.” Ikora gave a slight smile, “Speaking of. Where is…?”  
Ikora was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind her. There was a very unimpressed Adam covered head to toe in snow. “Now I know why Shaxx keeps his helmet on.” He groaned as he shrugged off the snow. “That’s a good look for you, Adam!” Blaze laughed, which resulted in her receiving a snowball to the face. “Anyway, Eva wants you.” Adam began, “Something about cookies you ordered?”  
“Oh yeah!” Blaze’s face lit up, “Crow, follow me! I’ll meet you guys in the meeting room later!”  
“That’s what it’s for!” Rae chuckled as Blaze and Crow headed back towards the courtyard.

_To Be Continued…_


	8. Traditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawning continues with Blaze introducing Crow to Eva Levante before they head off to the Dawning Party planned by the Vanguard.

Eva lightly hummed to herself as she removed the snow-covered cloth that was covering the presents and her oven. Cayde had given her a heads up about the snowball fight he and the Hunters had planned so she was able to prepare ahead of time as to not get caught in the crossfire.  
“Eva!”  
Eva turned to see Blaze approaching her stall with Crow not far behind. “Ah, hello dear!” Eva smiled, “How did your ‘mission’ go?”  
“Great! Zavala thought he had us, but Rae tricked him and joined our side and we won!” Blaze exclaimed enthusiastically. “Well done!” Eva laughed, “I knew that snowball fight would be just what everyone needed to cheer up for the holidays.” Eva then peered over Blaze’s shoulder, “So this is the new Light you mentioned?”  
“Yep!” Blaze turned to Crow, “Crow, this is Eva Levante. She’s in charge of all the festivities that happen in the Tower.”  
“It’s nice to meet you.” Crow nodded. “And you, dear.” Eva gave a kind smile, “Which reminds me…”  
Eva turned to a stack of boxes by the oven and pulled out a small box. It was red and black with a silver trim. On the lid was a picture of a white crow surrounded by white patterns. “Here you go, dear.” Eva handed the box to Blaze. “Thanks, Eva!” Blaze then spun around and handed the box to Crow, “Happy Dawning!” Crow glanced between the box and Blaze, “F…for me?”  
“Yup! It’s a tradition for Guardians to make cookies for each other.” Blaze then scratched the back of her head sheepishly, “But I had Eva help me make these because I’m not the best at baking.”  
“Understatement of the year! You tried to make a cake out of ramen!” Blaze heard Marcia yell from the other side of the courtyard. “Don’t you have a Drifter to keep an eye on?!” Blaze yelled back, earning a light chuckle from Crow and Eva. Crow opened the box to reveal several almond biscuits that were glazed with chocolate. He took one from the box and took a bite out of the biscotti. Crow’s eyes lit up upon tasting it, “This is great! Thank you, Eva.”  
“Thank Blaze.” Eva smiled, “It was her idea after all.” Crow turned to Blaze with a look of gratitude. “Thank you, Blaze.” He said softly, “Truly.”  
“You’re welcome.” Blaze said with a gentle smile before her grin widened, “But that’s only half of your Dawning present. The second half comes at the Dawning party tonight, ‘kay?”  
“You didn’t have to.”  
“But I wanted to. It’s your first Dawning in the Tower, after all! Speaking of, we better head down to the meeting room.”  
“Right.” Crow nodded before turning to Eva, “Thanks again, Eva. And Happy Dawning.”  
“Happy Dawning you two.” Eva smiled as the two Lightbearers walked out of the courtyard.

* * *

The meeting room bustled with some of the Tower vendors talking and laughing amongst themselves. “Hey, Drifter. Got you something.” Rae slid Drifter a small box across the table. “Aw, you care ‘bout me or somethin’, mega-snitch?” Drifter chuckled. “Just open it.” Rae rolled her eyes. Drifter opened the box and laughed upon taking out a mug with ‘Vanguard Tears’ printed on the front, “Ok, that’s pretty funny!”  
“Oh my stars, look at the bottom!” Marcia snickered. The bottom of the mug had the Vanguard symbol with a red cross over it. “Yep! One of a kind.” Rae smiled. Drifter’s face of joy turned to one of shock as Rae, Zavala, Cayde and Ikora seemed to simultaneously pull out a mug each with all of them having ‘Dredgen Tears’ and a similar cross over the Gambit symbol. “Oh you little…” Drifter muttered as Rae let out an evil laugh. Marcia turned to Blaze who was laughing at the scene beside Crow, “Why are you laughing? You’re a Dredgen too!”  
“I’m laughing at Drifter’s face!” Blaze laughed, leaning on the table for support. “Y’know what? I gotta applaud that. That’s a good prank.” Drifter shook his head with a smirk while slow clapping.  
“I have to say, life here is definitely…eventful.” Crow chuckled with an amused look on his face. “Trust me, there’s more where this comes from.” Blaze laughed, “You’re lucky Cayde didn’t decide today was the day he launched Operation Chicken Dance Party.”  
“Oh, it’ll happen eventually, trust me!” Cayde called from the opposite end of the table.  
“It will not happen eventually, Cayde.” Zavala gave the Exo a stern look.  
“That’s what you think!”  
“That’s what I know.”  
“We’ll see!”  
“We will not!”  
Blaze laughed as Zavala and Cayde went back and forth at each other with Crow chuckling and Ikora stifling a laugh along with Rae.

After recovering from her laughing fit, Blaze held out her hand as Firefly materialised a small box in her hand as she turned to Crow, “Hey. Do you mind if we step outside for a bit?”  
“Sure.” Crow nodded as they left the meeting room and went outside where it was lightly snowing. Blaze then handed Crow the small box, “Alrighty. Here’s part two of your present.”  
“Thank you.” Crow smiled, accepting the box as he carefully opened it. He let out a small gasp upon seeing its content. It was a small silver ring with an onyx stone in the centre and feathers engraved either side of it. The ring was on a silver chain and the inside had another engraving.  
‘Crow, my light in the dark.’  
“Blaze…” Crow gazed at the ring in awe, at a loss for words. “The ring you had was a promise made a long time ago.” Blaze began, “I want this one to be a new promise. A promise that I’ll find a way to get you and Glint away from Spider. And that I’ll be by your side for as long as you need me.”  
Crow took the ring out of its box before clutching it to his chest. “Thank you, Blaze.” He smiled gently, fighting back tears. “H-hey! Don’t you cry or you’re gonna get me started!” Blaze shielded her eyes, trying to keep back tears of her own. Crow chuckled as be placed the chain around his neck. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask what became of your bow?” Crow asked. “I had the remains kept safe in my room but…” Blaze became, “They went missing a few days ago.”  
“Well…I may have an idea as to what became of them.” As Crow said this, Glint materialised a box in Blaze’s arms. Confused but curious, Blaze opened the box, and her eyes went wide.  
There was her bow – No Turning Back.  
Only now, in the parts where it had shattered, there were cracks filled with silver, and the fire-coloured feather that was attached to it was now accompanied with a crow’s feather.  
“I heard that before the Collapse, there used to be an art. It took broken things and put them back together with precious metals.” Crow explained, “After your bow was damaged, I asked Rae if there was a way to repair it using that art. And with the help of the Tower’s gunsmith, we were able to fix it using melted silver.”  
“The additional feather was Crow’s idea.” Glint added. Blaze held the bow gently in her hands as a few tears managed to escape, “Thank you…” Blaze then furiously rubbed her eyes, a small smile, “Oh great, now I’m started!”  
Crow gave a small laugh but the two were interrupted when a pair of voices began whistling nonchalantly above them. They looked up to see Sundance and Ghost above them…with a sprig of mistletoe attached to each of them. “Oh, don’t mind us!” Ghost said innocently. “Just enjoying the snowfall!” Sundance added with a giggle. “I’m gonna kill those two…” Blaze muttered under her breath as a blush appeared on her face. “I’m confused…” Crow stared at the two Ghosts. “I’ve heard of this tradition!” Glint exclaimed, “That is mistletoe. Around this time of year, it’s said that if two people stand under a sprig of it, they have to kiss.” Crow glanced at Blaze, whose face had turned a dark blue. “Well, I wouldn’t want to break tradition.” Crow smiled, “May I?”  
“Y-yeah!” Blaze’s voice cracked before she cleared her throat, “I mean, yeah.”  
Crow chuckled before cupping Blaze’s cheek and kissed her. Blaze couldn’t help but smile into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. From the meeting room entrance, Cayde and Rae watched on with proud smirks on their faces. “Just as planned.” Rae smiled, giving Cayde a fistbump. “Naturally.” Cayde replied.

“Do you smell something burning?”  
Cayde and Blaze noticed a small flame had appeared on their armour.  
“Dammit, Blaze!!”  
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!” Blaze’s voice rang out followed by a small laugh from Crow.

_To Be Continued…_


	9. My Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time. Crow has located Xivu Arath’s High Celebrant. Together, it’s time to put an end to the hunt and avenge Sagira.

It’s been a little over a week since Crow’s visit to the Tower for Dawning, and the Dawning had ended only yesterday. Rae was in the meeting room with the rest of the Vanguard as Zavala held the usual start-of-year meeting to review everything that had happened during the previous year. And there was a lot. Ikora seemed to be the only one paying full attention to Zavala while Rae as kind of half-listening – her mind drifting to her concerns with the wrathborns – and Cayde was already on the verge of falling asleep. Rae was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps outside the room, “Do you guys-?”

 _ ***WHAM!***_  
The door slammed open as Blaze, out-of-breath, rushed in, **“RAEITSGOTIMEWEGOTTAHURRYEMERGENCYWEEWOOWEEWOOWEEWOO-!!!”**  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Blaze what’s wrong?” Rae was caught off-guard while Cayde tried not to fall over after being startled by Blaze’s yelling. Blaze took a moment to catch her breath before placing both hands on Rae’s shoulders, “Crow’s located the High Celebrant!”  
“Wait, seriously?”  
“Yes! Now come on! Adam’s already in the hangar, we’re going now! C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”  
“O-ok! Uh, send me the meeting notes, Ikora! I’ll be back later with the mission report!” Rae hastily gathered her things and rushed out of the meeting room with Blaze. “Uh, maybe I should go help-”  
“No.” Zavala stopped Cayde by tugging on his cloak. Cayde groaned as he leaned on the table in a sulk.

* * *

“Welcome my most productive Guardians.” Spider greeted as Fireteam Paralight entered the lair, “Have you heard? The Crow reports our High Celebrant is finally within reach. He and the Warlock Osiris have used what you’ve learned on your hunts to track it to the Dreaming City.”  
“Makes sense.” Adam muttered, “Hive wrathborns are more common there so I’m not surprised.”  
“Crow seems to be learning a lot from Osiris.” Rae smiled, “I’d say he’s on track to becoming a proper Hunter.”  
“Hell yeah!” Blaze cheered.  
“My Hunter…exemplary.” Spider chuckled, “An emblematic paragon. It makes me wonder why I need you. I jest of course.”  
“Suuure.” Rae rolled her eyes.  
“Though I have to admit,” Spider continued, “I carry some…trepidation.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“My pet stands at your shoulders, like an equal. Even more to some of you…” Spider’s gaze lingered on Blaze for a moment, who glared back, before continuing, “Your encouragement makes him think himself a Guardian! Ha…the vanity! Do not let him so close, or spoil him with pretty dreams.”  
A light growl came from Blaze as she felt her flame-powers begin to surge in anger but was stopped by Rae placing a hand on her shoulder. However, Blaze could see that Rae’s pupils had briefly become slit-like, indicating her own rage. “That aside, you mentioned we’d be paid for this, Spider.” Rae began, “I’d like to know our payment before doing anything.”  
“Of course, of course.” Spider chuckled, “Kill the High Celebrant. Break Xivu Arath’s hold over my Shore, and you can claim any prize in my lair as your reward. You’ll have earned it.”  
“Anything, huh?” Rae narrowed her eyes at Spider, “I’m holding you to that.” Rae motioned for Blaze and Adam to follow her into Crow’s workshop. “Sorry we took a while! Spider was being an ass.” Blaze called as they entered. “What else is new?” Crow called from his workbench. “So what’s the news?” Rae asked, stifling a laugh as they approached the bench. Crow shuffled esoteric gadgets around the bench, “We’re on the verge of the coup de grace. I’ve tracked the High Celebrant to the Dreaming City, but the Lure will need to be upgraded one last time before we can make our move.” Crow held up one of the strange baubles and examined it closely before handing it to Rae, “Here it is: the final piece.”  
Rae took the bauble from Crow and attached it to the Lure, causing it to flare to life. “Well then, like Spider always says,” Crow smirked, “We’re in business.”  
“Well said.” Rae smiled, “We’ll meet you at the coordinates. Then we’ll end this for good.”  
Crow gave a confident nod before gathering his weapons and leaving the workshop. Blaze went to follow but was stopped by Rae, “You heard Spider, right?”  
“Huh?”  
“We can have anything in his lair.” Rae motioned to where Crow had left.  
“Oh…!” Blaze had a look of realisation before quickly changing to a very impressed smirk, “That is sneaky, and I love it!”  
“Let’s just hope it works.”

* * *

“Remember: the Celebrant must be killed in the Ascendant Plane.”  
Osiris’s voice came through the comms as Fireteam Paralight made their way through the twists and turns of the Dreaming City, “Destroy it, and you’ll deal Xivu Arath a crippling blow.”  
“Got it. No Celebrant, no cryptoliths. No cryptoliths, no wrathborn.” Rae replied, “Let’s see her fight us without an army!”  
“Crow, are you there?” Blaze asked. “Somewhat.” Crow replied, “I tracked the Celebrant through portal into swirling darkness.”  
“A gateway into the Ascendant Plane.” Glint corrected.  
“As I said: swirling darkness. I’m learning its tricks now, studying how it moves through these realms. It’s like a shark cutting though black water.”  
“Good. Keep an eye on it.”  
“I can do more than that.”  
“Y’know, he’s becoming more and more like you and I don’t know if that should concern me.” Rae raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry about it!” Blaze smiled with feigned innocence. “Found a cryptolith!” Adam called from up ahead. “We’re-a coming!” Rae yelled back. As the Fireteam approached the large structure, Rae turned to Blaze, “Ready?”  
“Slammin’ time!” Blaze held the Lure up high before slamming it down. As she did, Crow exclaimed through the comms, “Ha! Tagged it! It’s bleeding energy and on its way back to you.”  
“Thank you kindly!” Blaze smirked as the High Celebrant appeared, “Let’s strike it down!”

* * *

“Stop. Freaking! **RUNNING!!!”**  
Blaze yelled as they encountered the High Celebrant again. They had been chasing it between the Ascendant Plane and the Dreaming City with Crow aiding from the former. As Blaze went to aim her bow at it, the Celebrant disappeared.  
“Uh oh…” Ghost muttered.  
“What? What happened?” Rae asked.  
“It stopped bleeding energy. We can’t get through!”  
“I think the Celebrant realised we marked it.” Glint added, “It sealed the portal behind itself.”  
“We’re trapped in here?” Crow’s voice came out fuzzy as the connection between their comms weakened. “No, no, no! There’s got to be another way in!” Blaze exclaimed. “If your companions are trapped in the Ascendant Plane with the Celebrant…then they are already lost.” Osiris replied, “Like Sagira.”  
“No! There’s gotta be a way! I promised…” Blaze shook her head as she tried to calm herself, “The Lure. Is there a way we can use it to create another way through?”  
“There might be enough Hive magic left…” Adam began, “But we’ll need people on this end in case it tries to exit back out here.”  
“If it’s the best chance we got, then go for it.” Rae replied. Blaze slammed the Lure down again and a portal opened above a nearby statue. As it opened, a message came though on the comms from Crow, “I hope you can hear this. The Celebrant turned it around on us – the hunter becomes the hunted. I wanted to… Listen, if things get ugly for us in here, just know it’s not your fault. Everything I did, I did because I wanted to. Thank you. For letting me have a choice. And Blaze. Thank you for everything. I love you.”  
Blaze clenched her fists tightly as she felt her stomach turn with fear. Memories of Uldren’s last message to her during Oryx’s attack resurfaced. In the midst of it all, one thought screamed out amongst the memories.  
 ** _‘Run!’_**  
As if on their own, Blaze felt her legs carry her forward as she scaled the floating platforms leading to the portal, ignoring the startled cries of her teammates.  
 _‘I won’t do it again. I won’t break my promise again!’_  
As she reached the last platform, she leapt across the gap between it and the portal.

_‘Please, Traveller, don’t let me lose him again. I found it. I finally found it…_   
_…my reason to fight!’_

  
Blaze felt the familiar surge as she arrived in the Ascendant Plane once more. “Crow! I’m here! Can you read me?” Blaze called into her comms, barely able to hear herself over the roaring wind.  
“Nothing in here I can’t handle.” Crow replied, but Blaze could hear a hint of relief in his voice. She managed to spot him on a nearby floating platform as he finished off a dreg. “What are you talking about?” Glint interjected, “The Celebrant broke your legs and threw you into an abyss!”  
“Nothing I can’t handle.” Crow reiterated as Blaze made her way to the rock he was on, “The Celebrant is just up ahead, and I think I have a plan… Are Rae and Adam still in the City?”  
“Yeah. Why?” Blaze replied.  
“Good. Glint, send them those coordinates and tell them to be ready.”  
“Right!” Glint replied as Crow turned to Blaze, “Thanks for coming for me.”  
“And let you hog the glory? Besides, I promised you I wouldn’t leave your side, didn’t I?” Blaze grinned. A small smile appeared on Crow’s face before turning serious again, “Right. Now let’s go take down the Celebrant.”  
“For Sagira!” Firefly chirped. Blaze nodded as they hopped across the floating rocks towards a large structure where the Celebrant appeared. “Crow, we’re at the coordinates.” Rae called through the comms. “Good. I’ve studied how this thing creates its portals. I’m having Glint send you and Adam instructions on what to do if it tries to create a portal out. Be ready.”  
“You got it. And be careful. Both of you.”  
“You can count on us, Rae-Rae!” Blaze replied, “It’s showtime!”

Crow and Blaze split into two different directions while shooting at the Celebrant, trying to split its attention two ways.  
“Fire in the hole!” Blaze tossed a fireball at the celebrant causing it to growl out in pain as it glared at Blaze, ready to fire at her.  
“Fire in the gun!” Crow fired a round of Golden Gun into the Celebrant’s back while it was turned as it roared out in pain. It briefly glanced between the two before Glint chimed in, “Energy readings spiking. It’s gonna make a break for it!”  
“We’re in position, Crow!” Rae added. “We’re smoking it out.” Crow explained, “But if you block the exit – it burns.”  
“Crow, you beautiful genius!” Blaze called as she leapt into the air and sent Blade Barrage down onto the Celebrant before landing back on her side. “Portal’s going up!” Firefly warned as a portal appeared on the other side of the room. “We see it!” Adam called though the comms. Before the Celebrant could reach it, it disappeared again. “We got it!” Rae cheered. “Let’s finish it!” Crow got his sword at the ready. Blaze readied hers as well as the two leapt up and they both pierced it through the centre from either side. The High Celebrant let out an agonising cry before slumping forward, Blaze narrowly avoiding being crushed by its body.  
The High Celebrant was dead.  
Crow and Blaze stared at each other in disbelief as they caught their breath. But their pants soon turned into laughter. “We did it!!!” Blaze cheered as she hugged Crow. “High Celebrant down!” Crow laughed as he heard Rae and Adam’s cheers through the comms before Osiris’s voice cut through it. “The High Celebrant of Xivu Arath is no more. How did you manage that?” Osiris seemed to be in disbelief himself. “Crow’s idea.” Rae replied, “He had us shut down its portal here in the Dreaming City when it tried to escape and then he and Blaze finished it off.”  
“We better bring its head.” Crow began after the two calmed down from the adrenaline rush, “Spider will want proof when you come to collect. It’s been an honour, Blaze.” Crow’s tone seemed to take a sombre tone. “Hey, stop that! Stooop!” Blaze lightly hit Crow’s shoulder, “You’re making it sound like this is the end!”  
“It technically is.” Crow replied, “After this, you and your Fireteam will return to the Tower and I’ll return to Spider. Chances are it’ll be rare if we ever get to see each other.” Blaze tutted, “Crow, if there is one thing you should always know about Rae, it’s that she always has an ace up her sleeve. And I’m not talking about Cayde.”  
“How would Cayde fit in her sleeve?” Crow smirked. “Hey, I’m trying to sound cool here!” Blaze gave Crow a playful nudge, “But seriously. Just trust us on this one.”  
“Alright. I trust you.” Crow smiled, “Now let’s get this head to Spider.”  
“Do you mind holding it, Fly?” Blaze asked as Firefly appeared. “No problem. Y’know, if I had a silver for every head I had to hold, I’d have two silver. Which isn’t much but it’s weird it happened twice, right?”  
“Yeah, that is weird.” Glint replied, “But what was the first head?”  
“A Gate Lord.”  
“What have you been through?” Crow stared at Blaze with disbelief. “Too much.” Blaze replied half-jokingly.

* * *

Fireteam Paralight entered the Spider’s lair, a serious expression on each of their faces, as Spider watched them enter, one of his guards and Crow at his side. “It’s done.” Rae stated simply. “So it is…so it is.” Spider said as he leaned forward in his chair, “Alright, Guardians. As promised: you can have a prized bauble from my lair as compensation for your…heroics.”  
“I want…him.” Rae motioned to Crow. Crow looked up in surprise before turning to Spider who just snickered at Rae’s demand, “Cute. Real funny.”  
“You said anything in the room.” Rae continued, “And not to sound threatening, but I don’t think going back on a promise to a Vanguard will end well for you.” Spider’s guard went to raise their spear at the Guardians but was stopped by Spider. “Oh…so you really want my little bird?” Spider laughed, “Fine. You can have him.” Spider turned to Crow, waving him off, “Fly away…” Spider then turned to glare at Rae, “…and get the hell out of my lair.” Rae smirked at Spider before motioning for Crow to follow as they walked to the lair’s entrance. Upon reaching it, Glint appeared beside Crow, “Now what?”  
“I…I don’t know.” Crow replied, still in disbelief, “It doesn’t feel real. Freedom.” Crow then turned to Rae, “Why would you do this for us?”  
Rae smiled, “Because…you’re a Guardian.” Crow looked between the two Guardians behind her. Adam gave him an affirming nod while Blaze folded her arms with a smile, “See? Told ya things would turn out okay.” Crow turned to the side, trying to quickly wipe away a tear that had managed to escape. “Saw that, tough guy.” Rae chuckled. “No, no, I, uh…a thrall caught my eye during the mission and…” Crow trailed off upon seeing that he wasn’t fooling any of them, “Alright, so I’m not made of stone!” Blaze giggled before placing a hand on his shoulder, “Welcome to the Guardians, Hunter Crow.” Crow smiled before pulling Blaze in for a hug. Blaze smiled as she hugged back. “Okay, that’s it. I can’t hold back anymore! Paralight group hug!” Rae grinned as she and Adam joined in on the hug. “H-hey! What are-?” Crow exclaimed. “Trust me, it’s better not to fight it.” Blaze sighed, “You kinda get used to it after a while.”  
“This is so weird…”  
“Fireteam Paralight in a nutshell.”  
Rae was the first to pull out of the group hug, “Unfortunately we’re not done here yet. From what I’ve heard, there are still a few Wrathborn roaming about that we need to deal with. Plus we need those explosives removed from Glint. But after that, you two are free to go wherever and do whatever you want. As long as you don’t cause trouble of course.” Rae then looked at Blaze, “But considering you’ve been hanging out with this one, plus the fact you’ve already been exposed to the chaos that is Cayde-6, I feel that trouble is inevitable.”  
“Undoubtedly.” Crow chuckled.  
“Absolutely.” Blaze smiled proudly.  
Rae sighed as Glint floated over to her, “I wonder how you haven’t had a nervous breakdown yet…”  
“Me too, Glint. Me too.” Rae sighed.

_To Be Continued…_


	10. A True Hunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s finally over. The Celebrant is defeated. Spider no longer has a hold on Crow. The only left question is now what?

Spider let out a small growl as he heard the laughter of the four Guardians outside the lair. He muttered a curse in Eliksni as he sat back in his chair.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Spider’s attention snapped to his left as Marcia decloaked, leaning against a pile of crates that were stacked against the wall. The guards went to raise their spears, but Spider raised a hand, stopping them. “What do you want, Marcia?” Spider growled, “I’m not in the mood for your ‘antics’.”

“I’ll say.” Marcia chuckled, “I just snuck in to see the end result of Paralight’s one-on-one with the Celebrant. Y’know, you always talk about how Drifter and I can’t seem to keep our mouths shut…and yet it was your big mouth that got your ‘little bird’ taken away. “Anything in the lair.” Honestly, how did you think that would end?”

Spider narrowed his eyes at Marcia as she stood up straight, “But if you want me to be honest here…I came here to give you a titbit of advice.”

“And that is…?”

Marcia’s expression turned serious, “Don’t underestimate Rae. She ain’t the same Guardian that walked in here two years ago.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well first off, she seems to be taking my advice. She’s started making her own rules and is starting to find things out for herself instead of taking the Vanguard’s word for granted. She’s beginning to think for herself. Secondly, and honestly more seriously, she’s got a new trick now.”

“Yes, yes, I’m aware of Stasis.” Spider replied dismissively.

“Not Stasis.”

Spider seemed intrigued as Marcia continued, “She calls it Darknebula. And from what I can tell, it works in the opposite way to Starlight.”

“Explain.”

“Starlight is triggered by the desire to protect and preserve life. Darknebula works in the opposite way: it’s triggered by the desire to kill and destroy it.” Marcia explained, “Basically, if someone was to, oh I don’t know…maybe anger her to the point of her wanting to completely annihilate them – whether she realises it or not – she becomes a feral killing machine that doesn’t stop until the source of that desire is dead. This is a warning, Spider. If she’s done following the Vanguard’s rules and you push her too far, it’s game over for you. I’ve seen that form first-hand when she was up against Eramis. Now the kell of Salvation is an ice sculpture on Europa.”

Spider just hmphed in response, “If she kills me, she loses her best ally on the Shore.”

Marcia laughed, “Oho, really? I look forward to seeing you try to tell that to a feral, acting-on-instinct Rae who has lost all sense of logic and reasoning. Hell, I’ll be impressed if you get more than a word out!” Marcia began to walk out, “Like I said, just a lil’ bit of advice for ya. Take it if ya want. See ya!”

Spider grumbled as he leaned back in his chair, watching the rogue leave.

“I hate that Hunter…”

* * *

  
It’s been a few weeks since the High Celebrants defeat. Spider had sent an engineer to remove the explosives from Glint’s shell, officially ending his hold on Crow and his Ghost. However, there were still remaining Wrathborns lurking in the Shore and the Dreaming City, so Crow had remained in the lair to aid Paralight in wiping them out. The last of them had finally been wiped out and the cryptoliths had begun to decay without the Celebrant maintaining them. The hunt had finally come to a close.

Crow leaned on his workbench, deep in thought, but was pulled out by his vision suddenly going dark as two hands covered his eyes from behind.

“Guess who!”

“Rae?” Crow guessed with a smirk, “No, wait. It’s Marcia!”

“I don’t smell that bad!”

“Ha! I know it’s you, Blaze.”

Blaze removed her hands from Crow’s eyes and plopped her head on his shoulder, “Yup!” Crow poked Blaze’s forehead, “Bang.”

“Gah! Crow has killed the Celebrant! Curse you, Guardiaaaaans!” Blaze dramatically sunk to the floor while Crow laughed at her performance before motioning to her armour, “New look?”

Blaze’s usual blue and gold armour had been swapped for red and gold armour, a bit similar to her very first set. Her cloak, gloves and skirt looked like fiery feathers with her boots matching the upper half of her armour. “Yeah. I’d been sticking with blue and gold for a while now.” Blaze replied, “Figured I should switch it up a little.”

“It suits you.” Crow smiled. “Thanks.” Blaze grinned, a small blush appearing on her face, as the two leaned against the table with a sigh. “I suppose this is it.” Crow said with a sense of finality, “Time to say goodbye to the Reef. To the only home I’ve ever known.”

“Yeah…” Blaze sighed, “It’s weird. It’s been three months, but it feels like only a few days ago we met on the moon. Now it’s over.” The two stood in comfortable silence for a moment before Blaze spoke up again, “So what are you going to do now?”

“I’ve given it some thought.” Crow replied, “Osiris actually came by earlier and we talked for a while about my plans for the future. I told him I’d considered exploring somewhere remote, like Venus, but he suggested a different course.“

“What’s that?”

Crow held his head up high, “I’m coming to the Tower.”

Blaze’s eyes widened as she stood up straight, “F-for real?”

Crow nodded with a smile, “People may judge the man I was, but I refuse to cower in the shadow of his legacy. I’m a Guardian. I need to act like one. I also talked to Rae about it. She suggested joining a Fireteam and…I’ve decided to join Paralight.”

Blaze’s eyes lit up at this before lunging at Crow, wrapping her arms around him as she let out a squeal of delight. Crow stumbled back a bit before steadying himself, letting out a chuckle as he returned the hug. “That’s great! You won’t regret it, I promise!”

“I know I won’t. I’m still a bit anxious about showing my face in the Tower, but I think I’ll be okay with you and the others.” Crow cupped Blaze’s cheek and gave her a brief kiss before touching his forehead to hers, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Crow.”

The two pulled away upon hearing footsteps approach the workshop. A moment later, Rae and Adam entered wearing new armour of their own. Rae had cut her hair, so it looked similar to her Kinderguardian hairstyle. She now wore pink, purple and blue robes with the Stasis symbol on the skirt and metal, layered shoulder pads. She also wore a black and white bond that had a spade projection. Adam wore armour that was several shades of white and blue with a white furry collar. “Looks like you’re not the only one with a new look.” Crow noted as the two Guardians entered. “Yeah.” Rae laughed, rubbing the back of her neck, “I figured since I’m the Stasis Vanguard now, I should look like it.”

Crow turned to Adam, “And you?”

“Everyone was getting new looks, and I didn’t want to feel left out.” Adam shrugged. “Suuuure. It TOTALLY isn’t to impress a certain Awoken in the Dreaming City or anything.” Blaze chuckled. “Hardy har.” Adam rolled his eyes. Rae laughed at the two’s banter before turning to Crow, “So, you ready to go?”

“Almost. Osiris wanted to meet me before I arrive.” Crow replied, “Said he had something to give me.”

Rae nodded in understanding, “We’ll meet you in the Tower courtyard then. See you starside, Guardian.”

“See you starside.”

* * *

  
“What do you think Osiris wanted to give Crow?”

Rae stood in the courtyard with her Fireteam and the rest of the Vanguard. “If I had to make a guess…” Ikora gave a small smirk, “A lengthy lecture on the importance of being a Guardian.”

“That tracks!” Rae giggled. “Ikora had to get it from somewhere!” Cayde added, earning a laugh from Blaze. Ikora glared at Cayde and Blaze, who ducked behind Adam for protection from any potential incoming nova bombs.

“Oh helvete nej! I am not being your meat shield!” Adam walked away from the cowering Hunters.

“H-hey! What happened to Titans protecting others?” Cayde stammered.

“Not from angry Ikoras! I doubt even Shaxx would stand in the way of Ikora when she’s angry.”

“VERY TRUE!!” Shaxx yelled from the other side of the courtyard.

As the group continued their banter, Blaze noticed a figure emerge from the hangar entrance walking towards them. There was Crow, now wearing a short black and white cloak with a white crow displayed on it. Under it, his usual black scale-like armour was now white along with matching boots and now wore grey trousers. “How do I look?” Crow asked as he approached Blaze. “Like a true Hunter.” She smiled. Zavala stepped forward, “Welcome to the Tower, Guardian.”

“Thank you. I won’t let you down.” Crow nodded.

“Well before we do anything…” Cayde began, a serious tone to his voice, “There’s one important thing we need to do.”

“True, true.” Blaze agreed. “W-what? What’s wrong?” Crow asked, glancing between the two Hunters with concern.

 **“…INITIATION!!!”** Cayde and Blaze yelled in unison as they both grabbed the arms of a very confused Crow and began leading him towards Tower’s Spicy Ramen. “We better go make sure they don’t cause trouble.” Rae chuckled. “I feel like that’s always a given when it comes to those two.” Ikora replied as she began walking back to her post.

The rest of the evening was spent at Spicy Ramen, celebrating Crow joining the ranks of the Guardians. Crow still thought the noodles looked like worms but eventually gave in after some peer pressure from Blaze and Cayde and ended up enjoying it. They shared stories of their own embarrassing Kinderguardian moments, from Cayde falling off a cliff moments after his first revival to Paralight getting caught in a Benny Hills-style case with two minotaurs and a flock of harpies on Venus after running out of ammo while their Ghosts continued their scan. They also told stories of their greatest victories such as Adam’s infamous swordfight with Crota after Rae and Blaze were downed. Blaze and Crow joined in by telling them about how they both fended off Savathûn’s forces while trying to restore Hawkmoon. Slowly, Crow felt the anxiety of arriving at the Tower wash away. He knew there would still be Guardians who would hate him for his past self’s mistakes, despite what the Vanguard would say to them. He knew of the possible dangers awaiting him with the Darkness looming throughout the system. He knew of the certain chaos running with this trio of misfits would bring. But right now, he didn’t care. In that moment, he was surrounded by friends – his friends – laughing and sharing stories together. They knew of what his old self did, he could see it in their eyes, yet they still accepted him for who he was now. He knew who he was. And he knew who he would always be.

A Hunter.

A Guardian.

Crow.

_End of Season of the Hunt._


End file.
